Outcasts and Outlaws Volume 4: Terrorist Arc
by Halogod97
Summary: The final volume in Connor's Mega-arc, the end of his story. Will he and the group be able to protect Vale when a group of powerful terrorists arrive with their eyes set on the Kalos Crystal? Will they save their city, or die as heroes?
1. The Hunter's Division

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 1

The Hunters Division

 **Finally, I've got to uploading this volume. Not only is it my favourite volume that I've written so far, it also is the last Arc in Mega-Arc that centres around Connor. In general, I think this is the best volume, definately better than the first three. Each character has motivations for what they are doing, it's full of awesome action and great music, and has a seriously epic and plot twisty ending. I usually don't like to go on like this, boasting about my chapters, but I'm just that into this volume. And that said, boasting about something I've put a lot of time and effort into isn't necessarily a bad thing. Anyway, I won't keep you waiting any longer. Enjoy the last volume in Connor's adventure of youth!**

Night, four years after Team Kalos left Beacon. The dark sky and the white moon shone down on the city of Vale, casting an eerie shadow over its many streets and alleyways as cars drove along the roads and the few people that were out of foot so late at night trudged cautiously through the streets. Many tall skyscrapers stood in the city, mostly near the centre, other multi floored buildings being scattered around them, then the outskirts being mostly comprised of housing.

Rufus hit the concrete with a bang, his spine bruising against its hardness and the octopus tentacles he had instead of a left arm splattered on the cold ground. He achingly raised his head up at the two who had knocked him over by sending a blast of dark clouds and thunderous green energy into his body, Mars and Kane. Damn, he hated those two. They were so big headed, thinking themselves the heroes of the city. Screw them, he said, criminals worked hard to make a living too. Mars was wearing the long green cloak he always had, the only new addition to his outfit being tinted sunglasses he always seemed to wear. Kane had changed his attire a little more, changing his long black coat for a shorter, more stylish leather one that had buttons going diagonally across it and studs in the sleeves and at the bottom. He still wore his fingerless black gloves, the only other new addition to his costume being a black cape that he usually draped around his back and sides, coming more so out of it in the heat of battle.

Before he could rise to his feet, a heavy boot kicked into Rufus' chest, pinning him to the ground with unparalleled strength. This one was Jim, Rufus hated him for his cocky attitude. Oh, how he wanted to slice up the man's family good and proper, show him what the underworld of rogues and outlaws could really do. Jim had chosen differently, now wearing a brown trench coat similar to what Daryl had worn before being killed. Under the coat, he still wore the same attire, a chain of bullets strapped over his chest. On his belt were two gun harnesses, in which he usually kept his shiny new revolvers, which Rufus had seen turn into mini chainsaws. He also still had his hat, but took it off more often. People were more accepting of Faunus' now. Jim pointed one of his revolvers straight down at Rufus' face as he held him down with just one foot, another figure walking over.

Music: http/youtu.be/zXNDbJ6almk [Professor Layton Lost Future OST- Layton's Theme]

"Rufus, you are hereby under arrest by the authority of Team Kalos of the Vale Police Department's Hunters Division." Connor very formally told him, holding his hands above his head as he cuffed him with special energy cuffs that prevented him from using his semblance to escape. Rufus hated him most of all, he despised his righteousness, always acting as if he wouldn't had turned to a life of crime if he had gone through what Rufus and so many others had. Rufus especially wanted to cut up his wife, maybe he'd even absorb her semblance while he was at it.

Connor's outfit was quite similar to what it had been four years ago, he would never throw out the white and gold cloak or the eyepatch that Ruby had gotten him, but he had made some additions. His body was padded with extra protection, by command of the Hunters Division, who considered him too valuable of a team leader to lose. His elbows just below his rolled up sleeves, the knees of his jeans and the shoulders of the shirt under his cloak were padded with black armour similar to that of an ordinary bulletproof vest, making him look like a bike rider without a helmet. He also of course wore a bulletproof vest over his shirt, but his cloak hid most of it. He also had many swords, two katanas sheathed on his back and two on either side of his hips. You have the right to remain silent, or else I'll beat your arse." He concluded after going through a number of other legal warnings, dropping the formality before he and Jim pulled Rufus to his feet and all four of them took him away.

When they had first left Beacon, Team Kalos wasn't sure where they would go. For a while they took on random jobs, anything from escorting a VIP to bounty hunting. It was the only way they could think of to make money out of their talent. They had seen how corrupt the military could be and had no wish to join them. It was after a bounty mission that they were approached by the Hunters Division of the Vale Police Department. While chasing bounties wasn't exactly illegal, the team had unknowingly gained a reputation as ruthless bounty hunters, criminals all over thinking them no different to themselves, just being in it for the money. They had earned a reputation due to their combat styles and semblances, being feared among many members of the underworld factions as reapers, bringers of death. The Hunters Department were among the few who in the cities who knew of them, as their bounties often took them to the far reaches of the continent, but knew they weren't cold blooded killers. They offered the team a position in their new branch in Vale, telling them it would be a steady job with a lower risk of death and stable pay, not to mention the possibility of gaining a reputation for heroism rather than being bounty hunters.

After a short amount of time to think about the offer, the team agreed to the terms and joined the Hunters Division in Vale, beginning their job taking down dangerous criminals in the city. At first their work ranged from petty thieves to murderers, always encouraged to bring in their target alive if possible, but the Hunters Division soon recognised that their skills would be more useful in other, more serious situations. It was because of this that the team was put on emergency call, a special state of working in which they could come and go from the offices as they pleased, so long as they responded to the emergency calls in the city. This meant that they began to deal with more dangerous enemies, facing new semblances and weaponry and in the process, sharpening their skills. It wasn't long until the four of them were recognised as the protectors of Vale from rogue hunters and dangerous criminals alike.

The four of them had soon reached the Hunters Division with the cuffed Rufus, which was a side building attached to the main Police Department. They headed for the sliding doors of main entrance with Rufus restrained and close by. A normal day in the life of Team Kalos, the bulk of the Hunters Division.

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above)

Kono omoi wo

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!

(He holds out his hands)

Mada jinsei nagai desho?

(Ruby appears and smiles)

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)

Yarinokosshiteru koto!

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)

Yarinaoshite mitai kara!

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)

hazu

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)

nanoni!

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito

(He walks down the street)

no tsumazuku!

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)

Ano koro mitainitte

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)

modoritai wake ji nai no!

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)

Nakushitekita

(He holds his hand out in front of him)

sora wo sagashiteru!

(Shows Mars running along the road)

Wakatte kuremasu youni!

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)

Dare wo matteruno?

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)

Nani kara nogaretainda!

(Shows Kalos in a street)

Genjitsu tte yatsu!

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)

kikoeteimasuka!

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)

Kaeru basho mo nai no!

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)

Dakara tsuyoku nantai!

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)

I'm on my way!

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)

Konna itami mo kangei jam!

END

Music: http/youtu.be/pdg7Q9f4tvo [Log Horizon OST- Main Theme]

As the sliding doors opened and Team Kalos entered the main office with their captured prisoner, Rufus, all eyes on the room turned on them. The office was full of desks that were all covered in papers and a computer each with a person stationed at every one, a central walkway parting the middle of them. Some of the office workers and other, lower ranking officers, stood at the coffee machine or the copywriter, all of them paying close attention to those who had just entered.

"That's Team Kalos, right? I see they caught another one."

"It was worth putting them on the emergency calls, they haven't failed a mission yet."

"That's Jim isn't it? They say he's got a robot arm where his real one for cut off in battle."

"Is that guy Kane? He looks just as tough as people say he is."

"You think he's tough? There's Mars, he's the strongest hunter!"

"What about their leader? Connor Hikaru Kodomo, the warrior of light."

Those were just some of the mutterings floating around the office as the team strolled down the central walkway. They were used to it by now, they were so well known that there was always some chattering wherever they appeared.

"Did you hear? Their leader Connor went to the docks while his team was off duty and took down an entire criminal faction on his own."

"I was there when that guy Jim stopped a train from derailing with his bare hands."

"My brother told me Kane boarded a stolen helicopter by jumping off the top of a skyscraper."

"Mars got a recognition from the champion of the Hunters World Tournament last year after he beat him without a scratch."

"Who's the cuffed guy with them? He's a right ugly one, isn't he?"

[Stop Music]

Rufus scowled at that comment as he heard it, looking around for who had said it as the group escorting him reached the metal doors leading to the holding cells. Guarding either side of the doors were two young officers, a woman with blonde hair in a ponytail and a man with ginger hair, both in smart Vale Police uniforms. "Officer Carter, Officer Lime." Connor greeted politely as he reached them, ignoring the fact that they were both staring at him with awe. "Got a first day present for you both, take good care of him."

The two ignored his attempt at humour, they were obviously too excited to meet him. They were looking at him like a fan would to a famous actor or singer, lost for words as they stared at him and eventually their excitement overtook them. "It's really great to meet you all, you're amazing!" Officer Carter, the ginger haired man, exclaimed. "I love superheroes! I used to read comics about them all the time as a kid! Well...I still do..."

"I wouldn't really say we're superheroes..." Jim replied, embarrassed that Carter thought of them in that way. They'd never done any of the things they'd done since Daryl for any justified reason other than that it got them paid. It was work.

"Oh, Jim you're such a hunk!" Lime, the blonde haired lady then exclaimed with the same level of enthusiasm as her partner. She was blushing as she spoke to him, stepping a little closer as if in an attempt to flirt. "Are you free after this? We could go back to my place..."

"Actually, he's married." Kane rather bluntly pointed out, Lime immediately calming down and stepping back at learning that, twiddling her fingers shyly.

"Yeah, and I've got twins. A boy and a girl." Jim added, slightly sad that Kane had interjected so sharply. Despite being a married man and Yang being quite harsh about him flirting, he didn't mind it when someone else flirted with him. He was still a bit of a player, but he had to repress that part of him for his family's sake.

"Ooh, a boy and a girl! One could be Superman and the other could be Wonderwoman! I have costumes, they can borrow them!" Carter almost too eagerly, he really did have a thing for superheroes.

"Ah...that's all right...I'm the only superhero my kids need." Jim politely declined, Carter seeming a little disappointed but still pumped to be talking to his favourite team of hunters.

"Hey, we need to get going, the boss is waiting for our report." Mars reminded his teammates, tapping Jim and Connor on the shoulders as he took of his sunglasses and put them in his front coat pocket. Looking through the window to their right that looked into their bosses office, they could see that he was indeed staring them impatiently.

"Well, we best be going, get this scoundrel locked up tight." Connor told Carter and Lime, who looked sad to see him go so soon, having hoped to ask him a lot of questions. Seeing they their expressions as they passed Rufus over to them and they buzzed for the metal door to be unlocked, Connor dug his hand through his coat pocket and pulled out two slips of paper with all their autographs on it. "I know you'll probably ask for these eventually, so here you go." He said to them, then briskly walked into the bosses room with the rest of his team, knowing he'd be scolded if he was any later. Carter and Lime escorted Rufus to his cell as the door opened from the other side, their eyes goggling at the signatures of their heroes.

"Remember what I said to you last week about making me wait, Connor." Came the voice of his boss as he entered the room where the rest of his were already. The boss was a forty five year old man, chubby and short with very short and grey hair, always wearing a brown suit. "You know I'm a stickler for the rules, it's how I got this job. Make sure you report to me as soon as you arrest anyone."

"Yes sir, sorry for making you wait." Connor formally apologised. Even though the four of them were highly respected in their line of of work, they still had to keep their own respect for their boss at all times. Like he had said, he was a stickler for the rules, always sticking to them like glue. If any of the team pissed him off enough, they'd be gone in seconds.

"Give me the report." The boss then ordered, waving a hand to signal they were to forget about what had just been said and resume normal procedures. They understood his many hand signals by now, knowing what do to upon seeing each one.

"Rufus Montgomery, aged 23. Arrested for aggression against officers and suspected terrorist action, as well as thievery and murder." Connor listed like a machine. This was how their arrests went, the boss writing every detail down in his official report as they went. "My team received the emergency call at eight o clock and encountered Rufus at eight twenty, catching him in the act of vandalising police vehicles. We engaged in battle and arrested him at eight twenty five, then proceeded to escort him here."

Nodding to show he was happy with Connor's summary as he stopped writing for a second, the boss looked to Mars and asked for the injury report. "No psychical wounds were sustained by any members of our team, however the suspect drained a significant amount of our aura with his semblance, I'd recommend a full ten hours rest for recovery."

Noting that part down as well, the boss asked Jim for a weapons report. "None of the team's weapons were broken or damaged in the fight, minimal ammo was used. The suspect was not in possession of any harmful weapons, since he relied on his semblance during the fight."

Writing that down, the boss looked at Kane last. "Since the suspect can absorb other people's semblances, I would recommend he is kept in the energy cuffs to prevent from using such a tactic to escape custody."

After noting that final part of the report and signing the form, the boss told them they could all go home and get some rest unless another emergency call was sounded. Mars and Kane went their own separate ways, leaving Jim and Connor walking back together, Connor's house being on the way to Jim's. The two spoke about many things, one subject in particular popping up. "So how are you feeling about you know what?" Jim asked somewhat secretively, as if he was being careful for eavesdroppers.

"I don't know..." Connor answered, after an exhausted sigh. "I was excited at first, we both were, but as it draws closer in realising a don't know a damn thing about it."

"I know you'll be great at it!" Jim reassured him, putting an arm around his shoulder as they reached his house. "Oh, and don't forget that we're all coming over tomorrow night! Make sure you're ready!" He called out as he walked away towards his own home, strolling backwards whilst he waved then turning around. Connor couldn't help but smile at his friends attitude. Even after all the things they'd seen, he was still always so cheerful. Connor wished he could be like that himself, he was way too serious about protecting Ruby nowadays.

As Jim walked out of sight, Connor unlocked his door and stepped inside his house into the hallway, immediately seeing Ruby cooking dinner in a pan on the hob, her pregnant belly resting against the warmth of the oven. He snuck in as quietly as he could, trying to surprise her, then wrapped his arms around her back and kissed her on the cheek in greeting. "Welcome home." She responded, turning her head and kissing him back. Her outfit had changed drastically as she grew out of it following their leaving Beacon. Since she no longer worked as a hunter, being many months pregnant, she wore a simple red shirt with black trousers, her hair having grown a little longer. She had grown up from a cute and pretty girl to a beautiful woman.

"How's my little boy?" Connor asked in a very adoring manner, walking round and getting down on one knee to listen to Ruby's belly, smiling when he felt a kick.

"It won't be long now." Ruby told him, smiling at blushing at the thought of being a mother whilst simultaneously cringing at the thought of labour.

Jim's words flashed through Connor's mind. "You're gonna be great." "Yeah I am..." He muttered to himself as he held his face close to Ruby's pregnant lump, hearing more movement from inside. "I'm sure as hell gonna try..."

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


	2. Evil Lurking

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 2

Evil Lurking

 **So, I love this chapter. Maybe it'll turn out to not be as funny as I think, but I had a blast writing it and I think that's what matters. Enjoy it, and get ready for some action next time!**

It was late in the evening, the moon shining above the city of Vale. In a car park behind an industrial HQ, a businessman fell to the ground, his case breaking open as it hit the concrete. He sat there and looked up at the person who had pushed him as the floodlights pointed down onto the car park. The person wore a black pinstriped suit with a red shirt underneath and was pointing his finger at the man, shaping his hand like a gun. The glint of a sniper flashed on the nearby rooftop, unseen by the man on the ground. On the roof, a red haired woman wearing black leather clothing was kneeling down and holding a large sniper rifle in her hands, one finger on the trigger while a thin wire attached to the palm of her other hand. A part of the rifle extended up to her face, a robotic scope being held up in front of her eye as she looked down the barrel of the main scope.

The man in the pinstriped suit pointed his gun shaped hand at the three floodlights, each of the bulbs breaking as if shot as he did so. He then pointed his finger back at the man on the ground and whispered, "Bang." In the next second the man was shot through the chest where the finger had been pointing, killing him in an instant.

Elsewhere in the city, a man stood in the shadows of an alleyway next to an electronics shop, watching the news on the tv through the window. He saw the headline, 'Rufus Montgomery, arrested by Team Kalos of the Hunters Division late last night." The man's sword stabbed the ground as he scowled angrily, then he took off into the night.

On a street full of factory buildings, three more men, their figures hidden in silhouette. The first of them smashed his fist into an electrical circuit, the alarm system shutting down as crackling lightning ran through the wires. The second of them held his hand out towards the slightly ajar window of the factory, a flicker of flame jumping through it at his command and quickly spreading, setting the building ablaze. The third simply stood back and watched with his hands in the pockets of his trench coat, enjoying the show his subordinates were putting on.

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above)

Kono omoi wo

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!

(He holds out his hands)

Mada jinsei nagai desho?

(Ruby appears and smiles)

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)

Yarinokosshiteru koto!

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)

Yarinaoshite mitai kara!

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)

hazu

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)

nanoni!

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito

(He walks down the street)

no tsumazuku!

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)

Ano koro mitainitte

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)

modoritai wake ji nai no!

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)

Nakushitekita

(He holds his hand out in front of him)

sora wo sagashiteru!

(Shows Mars running along the road)

Wakatte kuremasu youni!

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)

Dare wo matteruno?

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)

Nani kara nogaretainda!

(Shows Kalos in a street)

Genjitsu tte yatsu!

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)

kikoeteimasuka!

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)

Kaeru basho mo nai no!

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)

Dakara tsuyoku nantai!

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)

I'm on my way!

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)

Konna itami mo kangei jam!

END

Connor and Mars were sat next to each other in the cafeteria that was situated on the upper floor of the Hunters Division. The two of them were seated on stools by the main counter behind which the food was made, periodically sipping from a glass of cola each as more officers sat at tables behind them, all chatting in their own groups. Jim and Kane had left ahead of them to prepare for a night at Connor and Ruby's place for dinner and drinks, an event they tried to organise quite regularly. Mars had always had some excuse or reason why he couldn't or didn't want to go, meaning Connor's only time to chat with his old mentor was in the cafeteria. Emphasis on old, Mars had aged quickly since the others had left Beacon. Before he had looked middle aged, but he was getting older in his appearance. He had laugh lines on his face and wrinkles on his forehead, his pale green hair turning even paler and going grey around the edges. His strength hadn't withered at all, but he was growing close to his retirement age, if he chose to do so early. Connor had a feeling he'd stay on the job for as long as he could, probably until they forced him to go rest.

Mars still had his tinted sunglasses in his cloak pocket, he had carried them on him ever since he had gotten them. He hadn't told anyone where he'd found them, but they stuck to him like glue, he always wearing them when outside and keeping them in his pocket when inside. Connor's metal hand had been recently upgraded to a new model, one that looked cleaner and flashier rather than being a mess of gears and wires. The world had made great leaps in technology over the past few years, robotic limbs were no longer seen as strange or disturbing. Jim still kept his metal arm hidden under his cloak, but that was different. People asked him about it so much he had to hide it, the idea of him having lost an arm was interesting to a lot of people who wanted to hear his story. Connor's hand was different, most people didn't notice it unless he waved it in front of their face, and it was much less interesting than an entire arm. As for his eyepatch, people occasionally asked what had happened to him and wanted to take a look at the wound. Whether or not he showed them depended on his mood.

"This cola's gone flat..." Mars complained after taking a sip and grimacing in disgust. "Seriously, where do they keep this things that's cause them to go flat so quickly?"

Ignoring Mars and changing the topic, Connor asked a question that he'd being wondering about the answer to for a while. "Mars, do you ever think about getting into a relationship?"

"I'm an old man, Connor." He responded, sounding somehow upset at the fact.

"You're not that old, you could still meet someone." Connor disagreed.

Mars got a little smile out of that comment, even letting out a chuckle as he grasped his glass. "Love isn't for everyone Connor, not everyone finds it." He said.

Connor was caught off guard by that, not having expected his old mentor to say such a thing. The man had seen love all around him, Connor and Ruby, Yang and Jim, even Irileth and Kane, and yet he thought he wouldn't find it? "Not everyone falls in love Connor, not everyone needs to." Mars added in quite a depressing voice. "I don't think I'll ever find love, but it's ok, because I don't need it to live my life."

There was an awkward moment of silence between the two of them then as Connor stared at Mars and tried to take on the information he had just heard. He thought it sad that Mars didn't expect to find love, since he himself knew how blissful it could be, but he didn't know what he could say on the matter. He heard the door open behind him, then Mars cheered up and said, "Oh, there's Carter and Lime. You get home I'll distract them."

Before Connor could respond, Mars was up out of his seat and inviting the two young officers over to a table to hear some of his stories. The two excitedly accepted, sitting down elsewhere with Mars while Connor left. He was grateful. After the earlier conversation, he didn't feel like chatting to overenthusiastic fans.

About a quarter of an hour later, Connor came in through the door of his house and shut it behind him. "Welcome home, I'm making dinner for tonight!" He heard Ruby call from the kitchen as he took off his armour padding and hung it up on the wall next to Ruby's coat. He could smell sauce, something spicy.

Once he was all unpadded, he walked into the kitchen, kissing Ruby affectionately on the cheek as he came up beside her and looked at what was sizzling in the pan she was holding. Dinner for the night was chicken with a spicy Mexican sauce, mixed in with peppers and other vegetables. It smelt delicious and Connor knew from previous experiences that it would be. "You're late, what kept you?"

"Sorry, I was talking to Mars." Connor lied. The real reason he had gotten home later than usual is because the words Mars had said to him were still fresh on his mind, he had stopped to think about them a few times on the way. He then got down on his knees and felt Ruby's pregnant belly as he did every day, Ruby smiling down at his fatherly action as she always did. "You want some help with the cooking tonight?" He asked her.

"No, you go and sit down before the others get here. You've had a long day of paperwork, haven't you?" Ruby answered, knowing about the arrest from the previous day and the mountains of forms and reports that came with it. Before Connor could even leave the room however, the doorbell rang and he went to answer it. For a moment he saw no one there and thought it had been a prankster, but was soon corrected.

Music: http/youtu.be/SI76wS6tlKs [Baccano OST- Main Theme]

First a little girl with mid length blonde hair and standing a bit shorter than Connor's waist came around from the left side of the doorframe like a character out of a James Bond movie, holding her hands together in the shape of a pistol. After her, a little boy of the same age and height with shorter brown hair that had small wolf ears poking out of the top and freckles came around from the other side of the door in the same fashion. The two were Marie and Harry, Jim and Yangs twin children. The two of them pointed their finger guns at Connor and made a comical shooting sound, he clutching his chest and calling out as if he had been shot, playing along with the kids game.

As he leaned against the staircase, feigning pain, the twins ran past him, down the hallway and into the dimly lit living room. Connor then proceeded to stomp his way towards them whilst growling playfully and saying, "Watch out! The big bad Grimm's coming to get you!" As he entered the living room and turned the corner out of sight, Harry and Maria could be heard excitedly screaming.

Once they had started messing around in the living room, Jim and Yang appeared in the doorway, peeking curiously in to see what all the noise was. Yang now wore a wooly yellow jumper instead of the clothes she had used in Beacon, but still emanated self pride. "And Connor's worried about whether or not he'll be a good dad." Jim commented cheerfully, smiling at his friends actions.

"Jeez, he's an idiot..." Yang said, sighing as the two them walked in, Kane and Irileth walking in behind them. When Kane shut the door, Yang and Jim turned around to chummily greet the two.

"Hey..." Kane lazily responded, still not caring much for this kind of event. "What's all the racket?" He questioned, already becoming annoyed by it.

"That would be the lovely sound of children, my darling Kane!" Irileth exclaimed, hugging ever tighter to him arm. "Wouldn't be great to hear that sound in our own home some day?"

"I disagree, I hate children." Kane bluntly responded, looking away from Irileth grumpily as she moaned at him.

The four of them then made their way into the kitchen, which was also the dining room, and greeted Ruby. They all enjoyed the smell of the food, but their bliss was swiftly interrupted by a loud bang from the living room. All five of them looked around, hoping nothing had happened to the twins.

After a few moments, Connor came around the corner, holding onto the doorframe as Harry and Marie clambered all over his back. His hair was singed at the front as if he'd dipped his face in a fire, his expression showing that something undesirable had happened. "Jim, were you aware that your son had a firecracker in his pocket?" Connor said in a strained voice as the two twins climbed up to his shoulders.

"Not again! What do I keep telling you Harry?! They're dangerous!" Jim scolded angrily, making it seem this wasn't the first time it had happened. "Apologise to Uncle Connor!"

"Good one, Harry! Show your stupid uncle who's boss!" Yang praised instead, looking proud of her child's mischief. "Next time, I'll give you two firecrackers!"

"Yang, don't encourage him! And what's this about you giving him the firecrackers?!" Jim snapped, obviously very mad at his son's deeds. It seemed like it had been a problem for a while and Jim had finally gotten to the root of it.

"Uncle Connor's hair went boom!" Harry said from Connor's left shoulder, holding a hand up excitedly and replicating the sound.

"Boom boom!" Marie repeated, following her brother's example. Connor simply looked exasperated.

[Stop Music]

Once everything settled down, the five adults sat around the table to eat dinner whilst the twins sat on the floor with their cups of water, having eaten before going out but not wanting to be away from their parents. They all enjoyed the meal, but an unpleasant surprise was waiting for Kane afterwards.

Music: http/youtu.be/hEdLvO1XZOE [Durarara OST- Psychedelic Parade]

He had just wiped sauce off his mouth with a napkin when he looked across the table and saw Connor dangling something small and red in front of him. "What's that?" Kane said unemotionally, part of him not wanting to know.

"It's a ghost pepper, I got it from a guy at work." Connor answered, swinging from side to side like a yoyo. "Apparently it's incredibly spicy, try it!"

"No." Kane bluntly replied, knowing what it would be like.

"Do it!" Yang said from the other end of the table, slamming her hands down to make her point. Everybody else at the table soon started chanting for Kane to eat it, the twins even calling out from down on the floor, even though they didn't understand what was going on. Kane eventually gave in, not being able to bear the noise.

"Fine, I'll eat the damn thing." He complied grumpily, taking the ghost pepper from Connor and opening his mouth. All the others leaned in and watched closely as it got closer and closer to his mouth, waiting for the moment it touched his tongue. Instead of simply tasting it, Kane had a rush of bravado and tossed the pepper into his mouth, chewing on it and grinding it up with his teeth. He'd hoped it would help him skip the spiciness, but he was mistaken. In the next second he had leapt up from his chair and started screaming, the heat inside his mouth and throat was unbelievable.

Connor and Jim burst out in fits of laughter at the sight of their usually composed teammate losing his rag, Yang and Irileth following soon after. Even Ruby got a little giggle out of it. Kane soon started screaming for water and ran towards the kitchen sink, turning the taps only for nothing to come out. As he cursed loudly at the taps, everyone forgetting their were children present, Connor remembered, "The taps have been on the blink for a few days now, they keep breaking!" He then fell back into laughter, literally falling backwards off his chair, which only invoked more laughter.

Kane scowled at their behaviour, but couldn't keep that expression for long. The heat on his tongue was too much, so much he had to hang his mouth open and try to get air into it. He screamed for water again and this time he got some, two glassfuls right in the face. He calmed down as some of it got into his mouth, but the rest splashed all over his face and hair. The twins Harry and Marie were standing in front of him holding their empty glasses and grinning. "Water for you!" Marie grinned, whilst Harry said, "You look like you fell in a lake!"

[Stop Music]

The scene was then suddenly interrupted by three separate ringtones sounding in the room. Connor, Kane and Jim all took their phones out of their pockets to check their messages, reading for a moment before they put them away. "It's an emergency call, isn't it?" Ruby said, knowing the look on their faces meant just that.

"Yeah, some guy's making a racket in front of the station, he's armed." Connor confirmed, nodding to Jim and Kane just before they all began to leave the room and head for the door. "Sorry about this." He said to girls before he went. "I didn't want this evening to be interrupted."

"It's fine, it's your job." Ruby told him, smiling as if hoping he'd be okay. "They need you, go."

Music: http/youtu.be/2ISfifczkgM [Naruto OST- To The Front Lines]

Connor fitted himself with his armour padding, strapping it to his elbows, knees and chest. He grabbed his katanas, fixing two of them to his back and another two on his waist. "I'm going." He said to Ruby, a serious look on his face. A serious look he had come to love, he could be so strong when he got serious.

"Good luck, don't get hurt." She replied, giving him her usual innocent smile.

Kane took his cloak from the coat rack, tying it around and his neck so it trailed brilliantly behind his back. He slipped on his black gloves, fitting his fingers through the holes and adjusting the studs on his sleeves. He almost said noting to Irileth, but then muttered, "See you."

"Give 'em hell." She replied, knowing he meant to say something more but didn't know how to put it. He was like that when he wanted to say something emotional, lacking the words to express himself.

Jim took his cloak from the wall, glamorously putting it on and clenching his fist as he got his arm in the sleeve. He strapped his ammo belt around his chest and put his revolvers in their harnesses, the wolf ears atop his head twitching in anticipation. "Keep an eye on the kids." He told Yang.

"Makes me wanna go out there myself, punch 'em hard for me!" She ordered him, really having an itch to fight but agreeing to stay with the kids as she had done since they were born.

The three stepped out of the door onto the street as the twins watched from under Yangs legs, looking at them with awe. "Go get the bad guys Papa!" They said simultaneously.

The three of them stood side by side, Connor in the middle. Their cloaks flapped in the evening wind, as they dramatically took the first step towards their next mission. "Team Kalos, let's go!" Connor commanded valiantly, Jim and Kane chanting in agreement as they set off.

Meanwhile, at the station, a man stood in front of the entrance with a sword in his hand, stabbing it into the ground. The sword was of considerable size, probably being a two handed model, and it ended it the thin shape of a crescent moon. He wore a track jacket over an ordinary T-shirt, his trousers army camouflage and baggy. He could see out of the corner of his eye the officers and workers in the station all staring at him, pausing their work to watch the coming fight. "Jeez..." He muttered annoyedly to themselves. "Where are those idiots?"

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


	3. Act of Vengeance

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 3

Act of Vengance

 **Been busy recently, but managed to get this sorted out for posting it. First bit of action in this one, so enjoy!**

"Jeez, they're taking way too long. I'm itching for a fight." Floyd said to himself as he stood outside the Hunters Division. His long brown hair flowed down over his clothes, a track jacket and army camouflaged trousers. With one hand he had stabbed his weapon into the ground, a large two handed cleaver, the blade splitting at the end and coming back together in a crescent arc, creating a hole shaped like the moon as the sharp tips touched. He had been waiting for the response to his assault for a while now. After he had easily repelled the ordinary officers, they had made an emergency call to Team Kalos, which was just what he wanted. They still hadn't turned up however, and he was getting impatient.

Looking up from staring at his feet as he heard the sound of footsteps on the concrete, Floyd saw three figures running towards him with serious looks on their faces. He grinned to himself. "About time you turned up. I could've killed everyone here by now if I really wanted to." He said.

The three came to a stop as they drew close to him, keeping a safe distance and their weapons sheathed. "The emergency call said you weren't a serious threat, so we didn't rush." Connor replied, Kane and Jim standing next to him in full battle gear.

"Huh?! How dare you insult me like that! Me, not a serious threat?! I'm armed!" Floyd angrily responded, waving his massive sword around with one hand.

"Well, you didn't actually kill anyone, so..." Jim pointed out, all three of them not seeming as if they were about to go up against a tough opponent, but as if they were having their time wasted.

"Agh, you arses!" Floyd snapped, spitting and repeatedly stabbing his sword into the ground as he yelled. "Rufus said you were arses, but goddamnit I wasn't prepared for this! You're so much more annoying than he said, you could've give a damn about who I am could you?!"

"Hey, who's that guy?" Kane then asked the other two, pointing over to Floyd as if he hadn't seen him there previously. It was a simple attempt to rile their opponents fury, it worked splendidly.

"I'm Floyd Gastro, you stupid pile of dog crap!" Floyd furiously shouted at us, grinding his teeth as he tried to channel his rage into his blade. "You lot arrested my partner, Rufus Montgomery!"

"Partner...?" Jim repeated, thinking to himself about something before saying, "So he's like your lover?"

"Not that kind of partner! Partner in crime!" Floyd corrected, seething in anger so much that for a moment the three wouldn't have been surprised if smoke started bellowing out of his nostrils. "You put him in a cell, now I'm gonna put you in a hospital! Better yet, the morgue!"

"Oh?" Connor responded shortly, crossing his hands over his waist and grabbing the handles of his weapons as Jim did the same and Kane summoned up a small cluster of dark clouds around each hand. "I'm gonna return the favour then, after all...you did ruin our dinner party."

"Huh?" Floyd mumbled blankly, being completely unknowledgeable as to what that meant.

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above)

Kono omoi wo

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!

(He holds out his hands)

Mada jinsei nagai desho?

(Ruby appears and smiles)

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)

Yarinokosshiteru koto!

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)

Yarinaoshite mitai kara!

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)

hazu

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)

nanoni!

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito

(He walks down the street)

no tsumazuku!

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)

Ano koro mitainitte

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)

modoritai wake ji nai no!

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)

Nakushitekita

(He holds his hand out in front of him)

sora wo sagashiteru!

(Shows Mars running along the road)

Wakatte kuremasu youni!

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)

Dare wo matteruno?

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)

Nani kara nogaretainda!

(Shows Kalos in a street)

Genjitsu tte yatsu!

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)

kikoeteimasuka!

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)

Kaeru basho mo nai no!

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)

Dakara tsuyoku nantai!

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)

I'm on my way!

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)

Konna itami mo kangei jam!

END

Music: http/youtu.be/Sv93yQE8bRo [Naruto OST- Reverse Situation]

Connor rushed forward first, reaching Floyd in a matter of seconds, who swung his sword out in front of him with one hand. Connor was impressed he was able to wield a weapon of such size with just one of his hands, but the swing was slow. Connor ducked down under the weapon then rose up in front of Floyd cutting up with his katana as he went. The front of Floyd's shirt was cut open, he reeling back before it tore into his skin. Connor then jumped backwards into the flat edge of the outstretched sword, proceeding to front flip over his opponent, turning around as soon as he landed and pulling out his second katana. He slashed from left to right with both his blades, Floyd twirling around surprisingly quickly and blocking it with his own weapon. He then activated his semblance by pumping his aura into the sword, using to to push Connor back and blow him a few yards away with an air current.

Before Floyd had another chance to aim another swing at him, Kane was also running towards him, his cape flapping behind him. He turned to engage as the dark clouds around Kane's hands created his scythes, one in each hand. The scythes clashed against the metal of Floyd's sword, who blew him away with an air current blast from his sword just like Connor. Kane was sent back a few yards, but still remained on his feet and wasn't hurt.

Jim was up next, having pulled his shiny silver revolvers out of their sheaths and began to fire bullets towards Floyd, who blocked them with the wide and flat side of his sword covering his body. Connor moved in from behind, Floyd blocking the slash and knocking him back again. He turned just as Kane swung his scythes downwards at him, also blocking the hit and countering with a blast of air currents from his blade. Jim fired a hail of bullets once again, running forward while he did so this time, but Floyd still blocking the shots. As he neared, Jim flicked a small switch on his revolvers, they then transforming into two small chainsaw daggers that whirred in action, spinning viciously. Floyd blocked a few speedy attacks from them with his sword, then grabbed the scruff of Jim's shirt and swung his sword from right to left, intending to cut him clean in half. Jim however, was fast enough to bring up one of his chainsaw daggers to stop the swing, but then the following air current sent him flying to the side.

Floyd then winced as he felt something sharp cutting into his left upper arm, then looked out of the corner of his eye to see Connor's katanas slicing past, cutting shallowly but enough to draw blood. He then felt a pain from his right forearm and looked in that direction to see Kane slicing his scythes down on it, once again cutting shallowly but still spilling some blood. Annoyed by their small attacks, Floyd stuck his sword in the ground and spun around, creating an air current that pushed out all around him, knocking the three away a little bit.

They were on him again before he could move though, Connor slicing slightly into his left shoulder and Kane barely cutting into his side. Floyd winced from the pain and drops of his blood hit the ground, but then anger filled him again. They were purposefully making shallow cuts, meaning they weren't trying to kill him. They were holding back. "You think you can play around with me?!" He yelled, creating another spherical air current.

Just like before, Jim rushed in too quickly for his opponent to react, slicing upwards with his buzzing chainsaw daggers. Two long but not deep cuts ran up both sides of Floyd's body, blooding spilling out of them, but not enough to kill him. They were still holding back, as if they didn't have permission to murder him, or didn't want to. He grew angry again, smashing his sword down into the ground just after Jim dodged to the left, then slashing that way whilst releasing an air current. Jim was knocked back by it, but switched his weapons modes back to revolvers as he was going, firing off a shot from each. The bullets grazed past each of Floyd's ankles, slicing through the edge of each one and dramatically impacting his footing.

Not even giving a chance to get steady on his feet, the three members of Team Kalos rushed forward from all their positions one more time. Floyd felt Connor's katanas slicing through his shoulder, Kane's scythes cutting through his side again in a different spot and Jim's chainsaw daggers barely grazing his knees. All three places were open wounds, crimson red blood dropping from them. He still noticed however, that the wounds weren't fatal or even deep. They were underestimating him enough to think that they didn't have to kill him.

[Stop Music]

"You bastards..." Floyd cursed between heavy pants as the three took up positions around him, their weapons hanging by their sides as if they were sure he would now give up. His legs were shaking and his arms were unresponsive, his side agonising him from just a shallow wound. Even though he thought them stupid for not going for fatal blows, the minor damage still hurt.

"I have to say, your power level is kinda underwhelming." Connor commented dryly, ticking Floyd off again.

"Yeah, Daryl's air currents were way stronger than this." Jim added. "On top of that, your swordplay's slow."

"Pathetic." Kane concluded bluntly.

"You think I'm pathetic?! I'll show you my strength!" Floyd furiously retorted, running towards the three as his temper went through the roof. He'd had enough of them underestimating him. "I'll cut you in half and serve you up like sushi!" He declared, swinging his sword towards the completely still Connor.

He was then met with a womanly knee to the belly, winding him in one swift blow. He looked up to see who had done it, only to be punched in the face and sent sprawling back, his sword stabbing in the ground being the only thing keeping him upright. "Who do you think you are to interrupt-?"

"Shut your mouth." Irileth ordered him, raising her leg and kicking him in the face, heel first. This time he fell to the ground.

"Irileth, what you doing...?" Kane mumbled, not enthused to see his wife on the battlefield when she was supposed to be safe at home with the other girls.

"I felt like coming to help. Unlike Yang and Ruby, I haven't retired from being a huntress because of children." Irileth responded before Kane even finished his sentence, shooting him a glare that suggested she did still want kids.

"You really socked it to him..." Connor praised in a nervous voice, feeling his cheek hurt just thinking about the power of her kick. He made a mental note to never mess with her.

"Girl power!" Jim exclaimed, sticking his fist in the air in celebration before Floyd began to stir.

"You bitch..." He muttered with a low growl, his cheek bruises a dark purple and blood dripping from his mouth as he rose up and clung to the handle of his sword. "I'll smack you all the way to the other side of the world for that!" He then threatened, running at Irileth with his sword. When he swung it, she simply jumped over the attack, taking out her purple energy whips quick as a flash and smacking them down on him with a crash.

Music: http/youtu.be/KeHS4PUVmic [Naruto OST- Middle Aged Attack]

"Let's finish him off, Team Kalos!" Connor commanded valiantly, taking the attack as a cue that their opponent wasn't done. Jim and Kane responded with a battle cry, then the three of them rushed into battle. Just like before, Connor and Kane dashed past Floyd, lightly cutting at him as they went. He ignored them for a moment as he saw that Jim was still in front and preparing his attack, so his massive sword came down in a mighty swing. Jim brought up his robot arm and caught the blade in his metal hand, then crushed it in his fingers, snapping it in two with ease.

Floyd was caught off guard by the sudden and unexpected destruction of his weapon, still holding onto the half of it that was still intact. He took a cautious step back, only to be trapped in the triangle formation that Jim, Connor and Kane were now in. They then ran in a circle around Floyd, raising their weapons as they went and cutting him as they passed. They went round and round, confusing him so much he couldn't strike back, lightly slicing his skin at every opportunity. By the time they came to a stop, his entire body was covered in shallow cuts, so much so he couldn't stand without wobbling and could barely stay conscious through the throbbing pain. It wasn't over yet thought, Connor and Kane had one more attack coming to make sure he was subdued. They both put a hand on either side of his head and charged their aura through them, dark clouds and golden light quickly mixing and then bursting out with a small bang. When the smoke was clear from around his face, Floyd was unconscious, defeated, and fell back until he hit the ground with a thud and dropped his broken weapon.

[Stop Music]

"Well, that fight was pretty anticlimactic." Connor commented as he put his katanas back in the sheaths on his waist and wiped sweat off his forehead. "From the way he was yelling, you'd think he'd last a little longer."

"It is only natural, we are much stronger than he is." Kane said seriously, his scythes disintegrating into dark clouds which then faded. "He was inexperienced, so when faced with a truly powerful opponent, he lost."

"You talk a big game Kane, that's gonna bite you in the arse one of these days." Jim warned him jokingly, spinning his revolvers on his fingers before depositing them in their harnesses. "Anyway, we should get this guy inside and lock him up."

That was exactly what they did. Floyd was thrown in the cell next to Rufus, who was sleeping, so they had yet to see each other, Carter and Lime excitedly awing over Team Kalos as they entered yet again. The boss called them in for the report soon after, for some reason wanting Carter and Lime to join them, but no one argued with him. Halfway through the report, Irileth received a call to go out on a mission and was excused, leaving Connor, Jim and Kane to finish the report. When all was done, the boss said had one more thing to tell them.

"I'm assigning Carter and Lime to assist Team Kalos in the field. Take them with you on all your emergency calls and put them up in your homes for a while so they can used to you." The boss had said. Before he had even finished his command, the opinions of it were obvious. While Carter and Lime squealed excitedly at the thought of working alongside their heroes, Connor, Jim and Kane dreaded having to deal with their overenthusiastic attitudes every day, not looking forward to the future one iota.

As for the subject of them living with the two young officers, it was a tactic the boss commonly employed with newly formed teams or partnerships. The goal was to get the people in question comfortable with each other and, as proven by previous attempts, it worked. Living together meant having to deal with each other every moment of the day, so even if the people in question didn't get along, by the end of the first week they'd be forced to put their differences aside and work together to get things done. This was the bosses way of getting new teams to cooperate. Not that any of Team Kalos liked the idea of it.

Elsewhere in the city at around the same time, a woman in black leather clothing sat atop a rooftop with a sniper rifle, the back of the scope extending over her eye and furthermore increasing the zoom. Down in the alleyway below, a man in a pinstriped suit pointed his finger at a smartly dressed business man who had just cashed in a large sum of cash, his pockets loaded with it all. "My name's Emmett Blackjack, remember it in hell." He cooly told the man, then tilted his finger slightly and let out a comical, "Bang."

Nothing happened. The smartly dressed man looked around confusedly, wondering if something was supposed to have happened. Emmett looked over his shoulder to where his ally Sal with the sniper was positioned, wondering why she hadn't fired. That was the plan, that had always been the plan. He points his finger like a gun, she snipes the target, it makes it look like he has some sort of killer finger. He wanted those rumours to spread, he enjoyed being referred to as a myth, a story to scare children. Those time though, Sal hadn't fired the shot. What had gone wrong? Was she suddenly hesitant to kill these corrupt business men, after they had killed so many of them? His question was soon answered by a blade being drawn in front of his neck.

Just a minute earlier, Sal lay on the roof, ready to fire her high tech, silenced sniper on Emmett's signal. She watched him tilt his finger back slightly and imagined him saying his usual "Bang." That was the signal, her finger curled around the trigger and began to push.

Before she completed that action, a purple strand of energy coiled around her finger and pulled, stopping her from firing her weapon and killing the smartly dressed man. She looked back over her shoulder as she lay there, seeing a woman dressed in purple, the other end of the energy whip in her hand. "Hands in the air, bitch, or else I'll put a dust round right through your skull." Irileth warned, her other hand holding the blaster pistol form of her other weapon.

Back on the ground, Emmett looked of the corner of his eye to see who was holding the massive sword in front of his neck, being careful not to move too much. He saw a man in loose leather clothing and wearing metal armour on his knees, elbows and shoulders. A shield made up chunks of grey rock was in one hand, the other hand holding the handle of the sword. "My name's Stephane Brigadier, remember it in jail."

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


	4. Sniper Sal

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 4

Sniper Sal

Sal rolled over onto her back unbelievably quickly, aiming the long barrel of her sniper rifle towards the woman in purple and pulling the trigger. Irileth barely had time to dodge the bullet, moving her body ever so slightly to the side to avoid it. Sal acrobatically climbed to her feet, shoving past Irileth and making a break for it. Irileth fell back off the roof, her hand clutching the edge just in time, leaving her hanging there. Sal turned as she ran, the scope of her sniper extending over her eye and she aimed, then fired an expertly accurate shot at the edge Irileth was clinging onto to.

On the ground of the alleyway, Stephane saw Irileth falling and hit Emmett in the face with butt of his sword, knocking him out. He then ran as fast as he could and managed to catch Irileth in his arms before she splattered on the concrete, letting her down before ordering, "The other one's fast, call for backup." He then pumped his aura into the soles of his boots, using the energy to jump high onto the roof, following Sal as she fled.

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1] 

(Shows the city of Vale from above) 

Kono omoi wo 

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa! 

(He holds out his hands) 

Mada jinsei nagai desho? 

(Ruby appears and smiles) 

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him) 

Yarinokosshiteru koto! 

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on) 

Yarinaoshite mitai kara! 

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita 

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold) 

hazu 

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out) 

nanoni! 

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito 

(He walks down the street) 

no tsumazuku! 

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins) 

Ano koro mitainitte 

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons) 

modoritai wake ji nai no! 

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper) 

Nakushitekita 

(He holds his hand out in front of him) 

sora wo sagashiteru! 

(Shows Mars running along the road) 

Wakatte kuremasu youni! 

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni 

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames) 

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo! 

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away) 

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away) 

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain) 

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.) 

Dare wo matteruno? 

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi 

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni! 

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield) 

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention) 

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion) 

Nani kara nogaretainda! 

(Shows Kalos in a street) 

Genjitsu tte yatsu! 

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni 

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker) 

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo 

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them) 

kikoeteimasuka! 

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street) 

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street) 

Kaeru basho mo nai no! 

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them) 

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru! 

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes) 

Dakara tsuyoku nantai! 

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze) 

I'm on my way! 

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru! 

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords) 

Konna itami mo kangei jam! 

END

Music: http/youtu.be/7YzrSoO8XlA [Log Horizon OST- Souguusen]

Sal had neared the edge of the flat concrete roof but was still running, sniper in hand with Stephane on her tail. She cursed his persistence as she jumped off the roof, spinning round in the air and aiming a sniper shot at him. Luckily he was able to raise up his rock shield in time to block the shot, but the force of the bullet took a chunk off of it. That annoyed him, his shield was incredibly strong and her bullet had almost pierced it. He also recognised her acrobatic talent. To make a shot such as that whilst in the air was quite amazing. Before he could retaliate, Sal had dropped out of sight and landed feet first on the tiles of a smaller line of joined houses. She took off, her heels clicking against the tiled roof, Stephane jumping off after her and landing with a crash. He'd worry about the damages later. 

As soon as he started running again, Sal aimed the sniper over her shoulder and fired another round at him, it too hitting his shield as he ducked his head behind it. She kept running at full speed through the night, confident she could outrun someone carrying such heavy weapons. When she looked out of the corner of her eye however, she saw he was somehow keeping up with her. She could still lose him though, he was going full throttle to lug around his heavy equipment while she was barely trying. She skidded to a sudden halt however, when she saw another man in a white coat and holding two katanas in her way, also on the roof. 

"We've got you surrounded, so don't try to run." Connor advised, looking Sal dead in the eyes. She responded by firing a sniper round off towards him, he reacting quickly and slicing the bullet in two. 

"He stopped the bullet with his sword?!" Sal thought to herself, her eyes widening in a mixture of amazement and fright. "He's ridiculously fast!" 

"Whew, that was close..." Connor muttered quietly so that Sal couldn't hear him, a bead of sweat rolling down his face. "Don't think I'll be able to block another one of those..." Just as he said that, another shot fired from the sniper rifle, blasting away the katana in Connor's right hand. The look on his face turned serious as he realised he was up against a powerful opponent, then his hand went over his shoulder and he took a third katana out from the sheath on his back to replace the one he had lost. 

Suddenly Stephane came up from behind Sal, swinging his sword with one hand. Sal reacted incredibly quickly once again, putting the tip of her sniper on the ground and using it like a pole as she launched into the air, expertly dodging the hit. As she flipped upside down, she moved the sniper and aimed it towards Stephane once again, firing off another high velocity round. This time he was forced to block the shot with his sword, the bullet bouncing off its flat metal side. Connor then came in from the other side as Sal landed, slashing his katanas at her. First she ducked under the attack, then she jumped up, putting her foot on Stephane's chest and pushing herself further into the air. She next landed one foot one Connor's shoulder and pushed up again, firing another shot downwards as she flipped over him. Stephane threw his large rocky shield as she pulled the trigger, it being positioned over Connor's head at the perfect time to block the bullet, then slamming into the tiled roof as it fell back down. 

Sal landed perfectly on her feet and quickly stood up straight, her hands still clinging to her sniper as she started to run forward, now being in front of both her pursuers. She was stopped by multiple bullets hitting the tiles in front of her feet, looking further along the rooftop to see Jim standing their with his revolvers in hand. Over her shoulder she saw Stephane and Connor had caught up with her and retrieved their weapons, she was trapped again, unless she went down onto the street. Checking down there though, she saw Kane and Irileth, both looking up at her with their weapons out. Carter and Lime were also with them, although Sal didn't know them. She knew they wouldn't come after her, they'd stay down there and block her escape, she had nowhere to go. 

Music: http/youtu.be/ySzP1Yexh4Y [Soul Eater OST- Death The Kid, Bang, Bang, Bang, Have a Nice Day]

Sal heard the clink of metal hitting tiles behind her and looked over her shoulder to see Connor had stabbed his katanas into the roof of the houses and was holding them there. "You're pretty good, lady...good enough for me to want to pull out Mars' new trick." He praised, looking somewhat more determined. After that statement, Connor raised his head, his eyes beginning to glow gold. Golden light floated around his body in thin strands and waves, travelling down his arms and into his katanas. "Weapon Resonance!" He declared, the golden light taking shape around his weapons upon his command. The light immediately hardened, taking on the shape of a curved blade around his swords, making them much larger. The handle was also extended by an envelopment of golden light, the new formation arcing over hands and increasing his grip. The katanas become surrounded in golden light which formed two great big curved blades, they looking big enough to be too heavy to carry, but Connor picked them up with ease, one hand each. 

He then launched himself forward with haste, running head on towards Sal. When he reached her, he swung with his left sword, she jumping up and flipping in the air to avoid it. The right sword then came in from the other side though and, unable to twist in mid air, Sal was forced to block the blow with her sniper rifle. The impact was strong, it pushed her back to the edge of the roof, she almost falling off but managing to keep her balance. She scowled at Connor'a sudden growth in strength, her strength alone couldn't stand up to his semblance. 

"Don't go showing off too much, I can do that too." Stephane called from behind the two of them, holding out his sword and shield by his sides. He closed his eyes for a second and then reopened them, the pupils glowing blue with the power of his semblance. "Weapon Resonance!" He declared at his aura flowed into his sword and shield, enveloping them in a blinding blue light as their shapes changed. When the light died down, Stephane's weapons were very different. Instead of a sword and shield, two chunky metal cannons were cased around his forearms, up to just before the elbow. The cannons had three large barrels each and a sharp curving blade on the undercarriage, making them look formidable indeed. Leading from the cannons to his chest were two clear wires, blue energy visible flowing through them, presumably Stephane's aura being pumped in. As soon as they were done transforming, Stephane put his hands out in front of himself, aiming the cannons at Sal as they charged, then firing. 

The cannon blasts roared with the force of bombs, firing two explosive balls of heat at their target. Sal back flipped into the air to avoid being hit, the blasts exploding upon impact with the roof and bringing down that side of the building, the shockwave caused by the explosion being incredibly far reaching. While she was still in the air, Connor jumped through the smoke and dust and tackled into Sal, knocking her away from the safety of the rooftop. He fell too, but stuck his golden blade in what remained of the building and hung there, Sal hitting the ground back first.

[Stop Music]

Her hand still gripping her sniper, she groaned and winced as she tried to pull herself up, feeling bruises all over her back. She was lucky to have avoided worse injuries. "You just blew up most of someone's house..." Sal painfully stated as she managed to rise to her feet, using her sniper as a crutch. "Do you have no restraint?" 

"The Hunters Department gives us free rein to use whatever amount of force we see fit. You seem like you're a pretty experienced fighter, so why not break out the big guns?" Connor replied quite casually, as if he was enjoying being able to use a little more power than usual. "As for the damages, the Hunters Department will pay for immediate repairs." 

Music: http/youtu.be/Sv93yQE8bRo [Naruto OST- Reverse Situation]

Sal didn't get a chance to respond to that however, as Jim has unbeknownst to her jumped down from the roof and was then strafing to the side with his weapons pointed straight at her. He fired the remaining bullets in his revolver, Sal expertly flipping to avoid them, surprising him with her acrobatics. When she faced him during the flip, she fired her sniper rifle, the shot hitting him in the upper arm and the force of it alone knocking him back quite far. 

As soon as Sal hit the ground prepared to take another shot, Officer Carter had gotten between her and Jim, finally looking serious. His hands glowed pale blue just before a dome shield of the same colour was formed over him and Jim, the next shot ricocheting off of it. Lime joined the two of them under the dome, looking just as serious as her partner as her hands glowed pale green. She held both her hands above the place in Jim's arm where the bullet had hit and activated her semblance. "Don't worry, the bullet went straight through." She assured Jim, trying hard to get her semblance to work on his wound. "I'll heal you with my semblance, stay still." 

"No need." Jim told her, briskly standing up and removing his trench coat as he did so, revealing his robotic arm, which now had a bullet hole through the shoulder. "I lost this arm ages ago, so don't you worry about healing it." 

Carter and Like immediately went back to staring in awe like a pair of overexcited children at hearing that, almost drooling at the idea of a their hero having a totally cool robot arm. The dome shield was luckily still able to stay up, but Jim frowned at their sudden change of attitude. "This dome, is this your semblance, Carter?" He asked curiously, starting to have an idea as to why the boss had assigned to two rookies to the team.

"Yes sir! It's my awesome superpower! This dome is impenetrable from outside attacks, so I can keep you safe while Lime heals you!" Carter excitedly answered, happy that his hero was interested in his power. Jim now fully understood why they were here, Lime and Carter were supposed to protect Team Kalos, prevent and heal injuries. He couldn't for the life of him though, think of why the boss would assume they needed protection. They hadn't gotten into a serious fight in a long time. In fact, this was the most power they'd used since fighting the four generals, which relativity wasn't that much. 

"Let's take her down, team!" Connor then yelled from his position on the side of the building, jumping down an charging at Sal once more. He swung both his massive, golden swords in the same direction, Sal dodging them effortlessly with another flip and aiming her sniper at his face. What she didn't see however, was Stephane charging up his cannons again. He fired another two explosive shots towards her just before her finger pushed on the trigger, the resulting explosion blasting her backwards. 

She tried to get to her feet again, but couldn't. Every movement pained her muscles. She wasn't in a fatal condition, but damn did it hurt. Her attackers weren't holding back. "Surrender, we won't have to hurt you anymore if you do." Connor told her, standing in front of her as Kane, Irileth and Jim came up from behind and Stephane kept watch from up high. "You don't have to fight us, come quietly." 

Forcing herself up to her feet by putting her weight on her sniper rifle, Sal stubbornly replied, "To hell with you! I can't go back to what I was before-" She stopped herself there, not wanting to reveal whatever secret she had been about to. 

"Very well then, we'll have to take you down." Connor regretfully told her, but still rushed forward with full force. He slashed at her with a sword once again, she back flipping to dodge it, and he slashing at her with the other sword whilst she was in midair. She managed to hold up her sniper to block it, but was knocked back and Kane caught her by the arm, his dark clouds snaking up it as he held her. Walking over casually as she struggled, Connor put a hand over her face and muttered a few quiet words before sending golden light into her eyes. The light flashes through her and knocked her out cold, her unconscious form slumping on the ground. 

[Stop Music]

"Sniper Sal, aged 21 years. Charged with multiple assassinations and resisting arrest." Connor reported to the boss, all of them having come back to the station and thrown her and her partner in a cell next to Rufus. 

"No major injuries sustained during the fighting. Jim was shot in the arm but it's robotic frame is easily repaired." Kane followed up sternly. 

"The suspects sniper rifle is equipped with an aura binder that links directly to her soul. We can't get it off of her, but we at least made sure it wasn't loaded." Jim finished up formally. 

After that, the boss promptly dismissed them, ordering they go home for some well earned rest, taking Officers Lime and Carter with them. Sal watched them leave as she leaned against the back wall of her cell, her sniper propped up next to her. The authorities had acted surprised when they hadn't been able to separate it from her, but she knew they were aware of how it worked. The system linked it to her aura like a magnet, making it impossible to get it too far away from her. All the military models were like that nowadays, to prevent them from falling into enemy hands. She looked over at her partner Emmett as he stood by the bars and peered through them, wishing he had a semblance that could bust through them. Why had she ever thought teaming up with him would be a good idea?

Money, that was the simple answer. 

"So you got yourself arrested too? Dumbass." She heard a voice say from the cell next to her. She looked over and saw the occupant talking through the bars with the prisoner on the other side of him, but cared not for their story, so ignored them. 

"Screw you, Rufus, you got in here first." Floyd retorted, a part of him secretly being glad to be with his partner in crime once again.

"You didn't have to follow in my footsteps, idiot. I didn't take you in after what happened so you could wind up back where you started." Rufus countered, his octopus arm flapping under the baggy cloth of his left sleeve. 

"I don't want to talk about back then." Floyd stated, going and sitting back down to end their brief conversation. "Besides, I was on the other side of the bars back then." 

Sal couldn't sleep with their squabbling. She cursed her damn luck. If she hadn't been kicked out of her squadron, she wouldn't be in this mess. She was the best damn sniper they had and they screwed her over for disobeying one order to try to save a friend's life. The bastards. 

She drove those thoughts from her mind quickly, she had no interest in delving back into those times. She shut her eyes again, hoping to get some rest while the authorities decided what they would do with her. If she was lucky her record would act in her favour, but it could also contribute towards her demise. 

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets) 

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha! 

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets) 

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta! 

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby) 

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru! 

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work) 

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her) 

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo! 

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her) 

Suki de itayo! 

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her) 

Kaze de me ga nijinde! 

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night) 

Toku naru yo! 

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon) 

Itsumademo 

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru 

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together) 

nanimo kawo 

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech) 

kawattemo! 

(Shows Jim) 

Hitotsu dake 

(Shows Mars) 

hitotsu dake 

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta 

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile) 

mono dakedo! 

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on) 

Misete yaru kagayaki 

(It zooms to her face) 

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku! 

END


	5. Haunting Pasts

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 5

Haunting Pasts

 **After a bit of writer's block, I finally got the inspiration to write the next bit of volume 6. Anyway, here's a short chapter before we get back into the action next time.**

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above)

Kono omoi wo

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!

(He holds out his hands)

Mada jinsei nagai desho?

(Ruby appears and smiles)

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)

Yarinokosshiteru koto!

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)

Yarinaoshite mitai kara!

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)

hazu

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)

nanoni!

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito

(He walks down the street)

no tsumazuku!

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)

Ano koro mitainitte

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)

modoritai wake ji nai no!

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)

Nakushitekita

(He holds his hand out in front of him)

sora wo sagashiteru!

(Shows Mars running along the road)

Wakatte kuremasu youni!

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)

Dare wo matteruno?

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)

Nani kara nogaretainda!

(Shows Kalos in a street)

Genjitsu tte yatsu!

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)

kikoeteimasuka!

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)

Kaeru basho mo nai no!

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)

Dakara tsuyoku nantai!

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)

I'm on my way!

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)

Konna itami mo kangei jam!

END

"Rubes, I'm home!" Connor called as he walked in, immediately starting to fiddle with his armour padding as Lime closed the door behind him. Due to the boss' system that new team mementos had to stay with the ones they would be working with to get to know them and hopefully work well together, Lime was staying with Connor and Ruby and Carter had gone to Jim and Yang's place.

"Welcome home, you've had long night, haven't you?" Ruby responded as she walked into the hall from the kitchen, being surprised to see Lime there.

Connor saw the look on her face as he hung his armour padding up on the hook and blurted out an explanation. "This is Officer Lime, she's going to be staying here as part of that program thing the boss does."

"Oh, right. Your team hasn't done that before, have they?" Ruby asked, not sure how she felt about having a stranger in her home.

Connor didn't answer, he was too exhausted. Instead he simply slumped over to Ruby and lazily hugged her, then went into the lounge and fell on the sofa. It was awkward between the other two for a moment, but then Lime looked in the kitchen and spoke up. "Oh, your dishes need doing. I'll help out!" She kindly offered, going in and starting before Ruby had a chance to say anything.

"Thank you, we had a big dinner before Connor's team was called out tonight." Ruby said as she walked over and joined in cleaning the dishes and glasses in the sink and putting them on the side.

"So, when's it due?" Lime then quite suddenly asked, Ruby forgetting what se was talking about for a second, until she looked down at her belly.

"Oh, in about a month." She answered, smiling sincerely. It was always the first question anyone asked her, but she'd learned that she would just have to cope with it.

"Ooh, not long. You must be feeling nervous...I was..." Lime started to say, but trailed off and stared somewhat sadly down at her hands.

"Were you...were you pregnant too? Do you have a child?" Ruby questioned, then immediately worrying she might have been too insensitive. Lime looked like something bad had happened.

"I...I was pregnant...for a little while..." She replied solemnly, holding her hands to her chest and looking like she might break out in tears at any moment. "I had a boyfriend who got me pregnant, he bolted as soon as he found out and I ended up getting an abortion because I wouldn't have been able to take care of it on my own."

Both of the woman were silent for a moment after that, neither of sure what to say. Then Ruby had an idea and said, "Do you want to feel it?"

This time Lime really did break out in tears, one streaming down on side of her cheek. Still, she nodded and got down on her knees, placing her hand on Ruby's belly and feeling the baby kick. "It's...it's..." She mumbled, seeming like she might really start bawling. "Thank you..."

Meanwhile, Connor was laying on his front on the couch in the lounge, almost drifting off to sleep in his exhaustion. It had been a long time since he'd fought as hard as he had that day, even longer since he'd been called out twice in one night. All he wanted was sleep, but then the phone on the table in front of his head started going off, forcing him to answer it. He rolled on his back as he yawned a hello, hoping he wasn't about to called out again.

"Yo, Connor! What's up?" Came Jim's voice through the speaker, he sounding cheerful but also with a hint of tiredness. The sounds of someone playing with the twins could be heard in the background, a mix of squealing and laughing.

"Why are you calling me at this time of night?" Connor lazily asked, feeling his eyelids fall shit again as he struggled to stay awake.

"I was just wondering how Lime is fitting in at your place." Jim answered honestly.

"They seem to be getting along fine, her and Rubes that is." Connor told him, hearing the two in question giggling from the kitchen. "What about things on your end? How's Carter?"

Connor head Jim sigh through the receiver, then he replied, "He's telling the twins all these stories about you guys being heroes...so much they'll probably forgot about all the stories I told them about me..."

"That bites, you'll have to drill back into them them that you're the best." Connor jokingly said, his last ounce of energy leaving him as he finished that sentence.

"Very funny..." Jim replied, not a single laugh escaping his mouth. "Hey, have you heard from Mars? It's been a while since..." Jim trailed off though, when he heard the sound of Connor loudly snoring from the other end of the phone line, concluded that he must have fallen asleep, then hung up the phone and went back into his living room.

When he entered, Carter was sitting back on the couch, Marie and Harry on either side of him as listening closely to his many stories about the superheroes in his favourite comics. Yang was sat over in the corner, typing something away on the computer. Jim assumed she was chatting to one of her old friends or perhaps working on her blog, which she had taken up after having the twins to write about being a mother. She needed a hobby now that she wasn't working as a huntress. Jim walked to her as Carter finished his story and the twins eagerly pleaded for another, hugging Yang from behind and receiving a harsh stare for interrupting her work before she leant back into the embrace.

"I know, I met a real superhero once." Carter told the twins as they clambered about on his lap, Jim keeping a close eye on their behaviour out of the corner of his eye.

"No way! That can't be true!" Marie exclaimed, excited to hear the tale.

"Liar! Liar! Pants on fire!" Harry chanted mockingly, sticking his tongue out. Jim frowned, but relaxed when he saw that Carter didn't mind.

"It's true, I'll tell you the story!" Carter insisted, but then hesitated. "Although...maybe it's a little too grown up for you..."

"Don't worry about that, I've told them plenty of gory stuff." Jim said, looking over his shoulder at Carter. He remembered the time he had had to tell the twins how he had lost his arm and ended up telling them about the entire battle against Murlough. Yang certainly hadn't been happy with the bloody detail he involved.

"Well, in that case...it all started when I was a kid, a couple of years older than you two. I had been chained up in a cargo container on a big ferry by some guys who were into human trafficking. They wanted to sell me as a slave or whatever." Carter spoke, telling the story with as much detail as he could remember. "I heard at ruckus outside of where I was being held, then the door opened. I saw all these dead bodies, every single one of them burned to unrecognisable states. There was a guy there, the superhero, his name was Blaze. He said, 'I'm Blaze, I'm here to get you away from this place.' After that he got us back to the mainland and vanished. I tried to find out more about him, but there's nothing past that point. It's like he just retired or something."

As the story came to a close, Yang looked around from her position in front of the computer and declared, "All right, time for bed." She then looked up at Jim, who nodded in understanding and herded the twins of to their bedroom. The rest of the night was quiet for them all, no one knowing what would be coming the next morning.

10am, the streets were busy. An electrical a circuit burst open and crackled with static, surprising everyone nearby. The power poles above the houses sparked with vicious lightning that ran through their wires and cut off the power, snaking down into the houses and bolting through all the rooms, smashing windows and other fragile objects. Car alarms blared and were swiftly cut off as the lightning shot into them and burnt out their engines, everyone having fled the scene by then, leaving only one man behind.

The man stood there in a dark blue, short sleeved jacket. He had silver metal gauntlets equipped over his forearms, a small dagger poking out of each one. His hair was black, but striped with dark blue and his face was covered by a bestial looking mask covered in lightning shaped tattoos. "Come on out, Connor..." He muttered grimly. "Come out and die..."

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


	6. The First of the Three

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 6

The First of the Three

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above) 

Kono omoi wo 

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa! 

(He holds out his hands) 

Mada jinsei nagai desho? 

(Ruby appears and smiles) 

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him) 

Yarinokosshiteru koto! 

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on) 

Yarinaoshite mitai kara! 

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita 

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold) 

hazu 

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out) 

nanoni! 

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito 

(He walks down the street) 

no tsumazuku! 

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins) 

Ano koro mitainitte 

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons) 

modoritai wake ji nai no! 

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper) 

Nakushitekita 

(He holds his hand out in front of him) 

sora wo sagashiteru! 

(Shows Mars running along the road) 

Wakatte kuremasu youni! 

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni 

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames) 

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo! 

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away) 

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away) 

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain) 

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.) 

Dare wo matteruno? 

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi 

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni! 

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield) 

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention) 

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion) 

Nani kara nogaretainda! 

(Shows Kalos in a street) 

Genjitsu tte yatsu! 

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni 

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker) 

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo 

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them) 

kikoeteimasuka! 

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street) 

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street) 

Kaeru basho mo nai no! 

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them) 

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru! 

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes) 

Dakara tsuyoku nantai! 

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze) 

I'm on my way! 

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru! 

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords) 

Konna itami mo kangei jam! 

END

A blast, following by people screaming in panic, could be heard. Connor had gone out in a shopping trip for Ruby since he had been told to take it easy, Lime accompanying him for protection just in case. Due to the safety protocols, he was wearing his armour padding and had his katanas with him, Lime having a 9mm pistol on her belt. They couldn't be too careful and now he was glad they'd done as they had. They heard more explosions as they ran towards the main street of the shopping district, a wide path with luxurious shops on either side, seeing sparks of electricity bolt out. They could only assume is was a criminal and that the emergency call would probably be made to the rest of Team Kalos or to another soon, but until then they had to deal with the situation themselves. 

As they finally reached the street and looked down it, they saw the one behind the mess. He was a man in a blue, short sleeved jacket, a strange white mask with lightning tattoos covering his face and steel gauntlets on his forearms. Small sparks of electricity crackled around him, the cars parked all on both sides of the street were wrecks and the windows of all the buildings were broken, as if the area had been struck by lightning. When the man saw Connor at the end of the street, he stared at him intensely, Lime quickly pulling out her gun and pointing it straight at him. The mask hid his expression, but somehow Connor guessed he was angry. "Who are you?" Connor questioned, trying to avoid a fight if he could, that was the first rule of engagement. 

"You may come to know me as Striker...or perhaps, you will remember." The man replied ominously, speaking in a young, but troubled voice. Putting a hand up to his face and placing two fingers on the centre of his mask, he muttered, "My sister, I shall avenge you now...I will slay the demon that killed you..." 

Music: http/youtu.be/1TP4TU2Oe4Y [Attack on Titan OST- Female Titan Chase Theme]

Without any further words, Striker charged forward, extending two small, dagger like blades from each of his gauntlets, looking like something out of Assassin's Creed. Connor grabbed the handles of his katanas and braced himself, sensing he was in for a serious fight. When Striker was within range, he lashed out at Connor with his small blades, he stepping back to dodge them. He then grandly unsheathed his swords, swinging them both from left to right. Striker brought up his arm to block the blades with his steel gauntlet, a clang sounding as metal hit metal, then stabbed forward with his free hand. Connor leapt back from the sharp point, turning as he was in mid air and swinging his katanas from right to left as he landed, Striker easily blocking with his gauntlet again, this time the other arm. He sharply brought up his other gauntlet over his face, a bullet hitting it and ricocheting off. Lime had fired the bullet, she shaking a little but keeping her aim steady. She had given Connor an opening though and he used it to knee his opponent in the belly and send him back a few paces. 

"What are your orders, sir?" Like asked formally, keeping her gun trained on Striker and gradually gaining confidence. 

"Stay back there and shoot when you see an opening, but be careful not to hit me." Connor commanded. "Don't come in any closer unless you see get hurt. I only want you coming over to me if you're planning on using your healing semblance, even then you'll need to be cautious." 

"The woman needs not be cautious, my prey is yourself." Striker corrected Connor, getting back up his feet unfazed. 

"Me?" Connor repeated confusedly. Plenty of criminals had tried to kill him over the years to avenge their jailed allies, but he somehow found this one different, strange. It was like his mind was trying to suppress memories that this man was trying to bring back to light. "Why should you come after me?" Connor said next, ignoring the feeling. "One of your buddies get jailed?" He suddenly thought it would make sense, considering the cells were full of criminals at the time. 

"I wouldn't expect you to remember..." Striker muttered lowly in response, seeming ever more irritated. "Tell me, how many more have you killed since then?" 

Connor's eyes widened in horror as he heard those words, knowing what they meant. It meant that whoever this man was, he had met Connor once before when Kane was still in his head. Not only that, he had met him while he had not been able to control the power very well, which often resulted in him going berserk and killing people every now and then, Mars being the only one that could calm him in that state. Was Striker referring to the night he destroyed his village and killed all it's inhabitants, or one of the many other incidents? He had put that part of his past behind him, having come to terms with it after splitting Kane's mind from his. Why was it all coming back to haunt him? He didn't even talk to Ruby about those days, those horrible days. "Who the hell are you?" Connor asked once again, his voice shaking. 

"I am an avenger...a soul whose only purpose in life is to destroy the one who destroyed his most dear." Striker replied cryptically, preparing his weapons for another assault. "You took from me what I loved the most, reduced it to ashes and walked away without any indication of your own guilt. You live to this day, I will rectify this." 

"Just what the hell did I do to you?!" Connor shouted, really starting to become afraid of the mystery assassin now. "Who did I kill?! There were so many back then, remind me!" 

After a moment of contemplation, Striker once again spoke, "Alas, you truly do not remember. No bother, maybe you will find out in due time...or maybe you'll be rotting before you have any chance to!" 

Striker charged forward once again after those words, taking Connor off guard. He barely had time to raise his katana in defence as one of the blades came from his right side, almost dropping his weapon when it impacted. He felt a sharp pain in the side of his face as Striker's hand sped past it, then realising his hidden blade had sliced his cheek open, blood flowing freely from it. His arm now behind Connor as he stared him in the eye, he whipped the dagger out of the gauntlet and held it tightly in his hand, then drove it towards the back of his neck. 

A gunshot rang. Blood erupted from Strikers hand. He dropped the dagger and retracted his arm, stepping back for his own safety. He looked down at the hole in his hand, the bullet having almost gone straight through and hit Connor in the neck as well. It had been a risky shot. The female officer had risked Connor's life in order to save it. Striker carelessly prized the bullet out, not even wincing as his blood splattered across the ground. Connor looked frozen with fear, Lime shaking and barely holding onto her gun. He couldn't blame them, they had been within an inch of death. 

Music: http/youtu.be/53GXfedpscs [Naruto OST- Ikari]

It only took a second for Connor's expression to change, he went from terrified to furious. He was no longer intimidated by Striker's cryptic way of talking, but angry at what he was insinuating. Gripping the handles of his katanas harder than ever before, he stabbed both into the concrete ground, pumping as much aura into them as he could muster. "Weapon Resonance!" He growled in rage, his swords becoming coated in golden light which kept expanding and growing. Soon they had changed into two massive and golden curved blades, the handles flexing over his hands for extra grip. He looked up at Striker menacingly, his face full of contempt. "I've had enough of your stupid talk! I don't care who you're are anymore!" Connor snapped, wanting to end this battle before he recalled any more of his past pain. "If I have to to shut you up, I'll destroy you!" 

"Just like her..." Striker mysteriously added, but this only succeeded in making Connor angrier. 

"Officer Lime, stay as far back as you can. Don't fire that gun." Connor sternly ordered her, making her think for a moment she shouldn't've have taken the shot that had almost hit his neck. "He's mine!" He then declared, rushing forward with the finished version of his massive golden blades in hand. He swung the sword in his left hand to the right, Striker bringing up his arm to block it with his metal gauntlet. Even thing he succeeded in doing so, the impact was more than powerful enough to push him to the side, even as he tried to push back against hit. He almost gasped when he saw the other sword coming at him from the opposite direction, ducking under it and running around Connor's side to get a hit if he could, but cautiously keeping his distance. He saw a glint in his eyes, something he hadn't seen in anyone since then. 

"It seems you still have a bit of it in you." He commented dryly as he whipped with his arm, sending throwing knives out of his gauntlet. Connor simply knocked them away with his heavy swords, then slashed them out again. Strikes ducked under them once more, then charged up electricity in his left hand, but was knocked to the side before he could fire it. He felt a bone in his arm crack upon the impact, it was extremely painful, but it wouldn't stop him from moving it. As he was knocked through the air, he shot a bolt of electricity out of his hand, it striking Connor right in the chest and knocking him off balance, but doing nought to halt his attacks. The next one came fast from the right, Striker barely being able to block. He was then surprised to see the swords falling towards the ground, their golden energy fading from them, then realised Connor had dropped them on purpose. 

Reaching over his shoulders, Connor pulled his other two katanas off his back, not bothering to charge them with his aura before he sliced downwards towards his enemy. Striker raised his hand just in time to catch the swords, the blades of each digging deep into his palm and grinding against bone, but he could take the pain. He'd had worse. He held the blades up there as he stared right at Connor's face, which was twisted with fury, then used his other hand to strike him with another bolt of lightning.

[Stop Music]

Connor fell back, his katanas coming out of his grip and landing on the concrete, leaving him weapon less. Striker's hands were both badly injured and bleeding, but somehow Connor knew that wouldn't stop him. He was in a precarious situation, particularly as Lime was conflicted about whether or not she should disobey a direct order and shoot. The blood on his cheek went all the way down his face now, trailing down his neck and coating one side of his head in crimson red. 

"This is all you have...? Without the darkness, you are nothing..." Striker taunted as he walked towards Connor, whipping his daggers out and holding them by his sides. His body started to crackle with electricity, Connor somehow feeling as if he was being stared at with remorse from under the mask. The electricity sparked from multiple points around Striker, giving him a terrifying look. Connor didn't suppose he could even get close without getting shocked. "Your abilities...are low level...anyone could copy them..." Striker told him in a low and quite frightening voice as he stopped just a couple of metres away. "Weapon Resonance!" 

Connor was surprised to hear him say such words, but even more shocked by what happened next. The electricity that had been building up around Striker corralled down to his daggers, growing them two long claymore style swords made wholly out of the electricity, sharp and thin. His gauntlets also glowed blue, as if they were filled with his aura. "What you have seen of me so far, it is barely the tip of the metaphorical iceberg. I will not reserve my power any longer." 

"How can you do that?" Connor questioned, slightly afraid of his opponents strength, it having been a long time since he or any of his team had encountered such power. "How can you use a weapon resonance? No one but us is supposed to know how to do it." 

"It is not as complicated as you assume, any well trained warrior could master it." Striker plainly replied. "It was a simple task to fulfil, but enough small talk...time for you to die." 

Without another word, Striker raised one of his electrical swords up, looking right at at Connor as he held it there for a second, it's energy crackling. He then swung down hard and fast, Connor closing his eyes in fear. 

Connor opened his eyes when he heard a smashing sound and rejoiced at what he saw. A barrage of dark clouds had smacked into Striker from the side, knocking him away before the blade hit. He was now leaning against the wall of a nearby building which, by the cracks in the wall, he had assumedly been launched into by the impact. He remained standing, but seemed a little stiff as he stood away from the wall and faced his attacker, Kane. His black cape drawn over his back and his glove covered fists clenched, he stood there majestically and stared down his opponent. "I came as fast as I could when I heard the emergency call, of course." He told Connor, explaining how he had arrived in the nick of time. "Having trouble handling this one?" 

"Kane..." Connor mumbled, lost for words. He didn't know if he should tell him about what Striker had been saying, how the battle had been going so far or simply keep his mouth shut. In the end, he sighed gratefully and replied, "He's a tough cookie, maybe as tough as some of the guys we fought back in the day." 

"Oh, really?" Kane responded as he called upon his scythes, making them appear from among the dark clouds. "In that case, it's no surprise you're having such a hard time. We'll take care of it from here." 

Connor was about to ask what he meant by 'we', not seeing anybody else, but that question was quickly answered. Standing atop the roof of the building that Striker was standing in front of, Jim shot round after round out of his dual revolvers down at his target, his coat billowing in the wind. Striker swiftly brought up his arm and used the glow of blue gauntlet to summon a shield of electricity from it, one just big enough to repel all of the bullets. Jim them jumped from the building, joining Kane on the street, and fired off a few more rounds. Striker repositioned his arm and moved the shield, deflecting the shots again. Jim then pushed open the barrels of each of his revolvers to get rid of the empty shells inside them, then swiped them over the ammo belt on his chest to quickly reload. He next stepped back slightly, letting Kane run past and charge in with his scythes. 

Striker ran to the left to dodge Kane's first attack before it hit, but he didn't stop there. He quickly turned to face his enemy, his scythes clashing against the electrical swords he held. After a short moment of conflict, Kane swung upwards from the ground with one of his weapons, Striker having to jump back to avoid being cut in two. While he was in the air however, he sensed energy building up and looked over to Jim, whose eyes were glowing white as his guns glowed the same colour. "Weapon Resonance!" Jim cried as his guns transformed from small revolvers into bigger submachine guns, the ammo belt over his chest connecting to their magazines and keeping them stocked up. He opened fire immediately, unleashing a hailstorm of bullets upon Striker, who brought up his arm to block with his electrical shield as he came back down from his jump, every seeming to move slowly as he tried to decide what to do next. 

Before he could however, he heard another cry from Kane. "Weapon Resonance!" He called out, holding his scythes by his sides as his eyes were shrouded in dark clouds and the same clouds travelled down his arms to his weapons. In mere moments his scythes were surrounded by the dark clouds and changed into claws of darkness, two of the Grimm like sets of talons extending from each scythe. Swinging his arms towards Striker just before his feet hit the ground, he sent the four claws towards him, they crashing into the concrete as he repeatedly stepped back to avoid being crushed. The dust and smoke brought up by the attacks covered the appearance of the next attacker, Striker only just having time to react. 

Out of the dust came Mars, clutching a green energy sword in one hand and a shield made of the same energy in the other. He swung his sword downward, Striker barely being able to block it with his swords before it hit his face. They stood there for a couple of seconds in their struggle, then Mars spoke, sunglasses over his eyes. "You call that a weapon resonance?" He taunted, looking at the electrical swords. "I, the creator of weapons resonances, will show you how it's done!" With that declaration, Mars' eyes started glowing green. Soon afterwards, another blade grew out of Mars' energy sword, Striker only just being able to move his head aside to avoid being stabbed by it. The sword had now turned into a one handed pickaxe, not only that, it had grown significantly larger. 

Mars had other tricks up his sleeve though, he turned the weapon sideways and slashed to cut of Striker's head, but he expertly ducked under it and jumped back to safety. He then threw his sword up in the air for a moment and charged up electricity in his hand, as much as he could, then shot it. Mars brought up his green energy shield as quick as he could, which was now also much larger. Even the massive bolt of electricity barely faced him, his shield taking the brunt of it without getting a scratch. Striker reeled back in shock, not having expected such a lack of effect, but didn't see the next attack coming. Connor darted in front of him, his fist glowing golden, and punched him straight in the belly. Striker was knocked backed by the hard blow, clutching his stomach in pain and spitting blood on the inside of his mask. 

When he raised his head, he saw the four charging towards him again. This was more than he had wanted to get himself into, much more. He had intended to kill Connor and then return to Asher, but then they had interfered. He couldn't take all four of them, two at a time maybe, but not without help from Blaze. Looking over his shoulder, he saw his escape route, a sewer lid, and kicked down on it to open up the way down. He then stepped back into the hole whilst staring remorsefully at the four, dropping down nonchalantly as they reached him. They would have followed, but a bang filled the sewer below after he fled, caving in the way down. 

[Stop Music] 

"Whew, that guy was a pain in the arse." Jim commented, wiping sweat from his forehead as his weapons and everyone else's returned to their original state. "Is it just me, or did you guys get an urge to kill that guy?"

Kane nodded in agreement, looking down at the cave in regretfully. "I had a feeling we should kill him instead of taking him prisoner, he seemed extremely dangerous. I'm not sure why though..." 

Silently agreeing with their statements, Mars noticed Connor had strange look on his face and said to him, "Hey, you alright?" 

Connor didn't respond at first, he jerked his head up as if he had been snapped out of a trance, then looked around art the other three, unsure of whether he should tell them. Finally, he walked past Mars, putting a hand on his shoulder as he went, and whispered to him, "We need to talk...about a couple of things..." 

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets) 

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha! 

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets) 

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta! 

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby) 

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru! 

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work) 

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her) 

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo! 

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her) 

Suki de itayo! 

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her) 

Kaze de me ga nijinde! 

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night) 

Toku naru yo! 

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon) 

Itsumademo 

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru 

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together) 

nanimo kawo 

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech) 

kawattemo! 

(Shows Jim) 

Hitotsu dake 

(Shows Mars) 

hitotsu dake 

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta 

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile) 

mono dakedo! 

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on) 

Misete yaru kagayaki 

(It zooms to her face) 

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku! 

END


	7. Around Each Corner, Evil Lurks

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 7

Around Each Corner, Evil Lurks

Striker wandered into the abandoned warehouse as the moonlight shined down on it and the night sky covered it in equal amounts of darkness. He was still wounded from his battle, his hands being badly injured, but he could easily stitch his wounds. He'd learned how to do so whilst he had been on his training journey those few years ago, having no choice but to teach himself by trial and error. It had resulted in a lot of gruesome and often painful mistakes, but he got it in the end. One hand was cut down to the bone but could be stitched back into near perfect shape, but the over had a bullet hole in it from when Lime had shot at him. He'd have to take more time on that one and bandage them both.

He slid the metal door shut behind him, it making a clang as it hit the doorframe and locked into place. Then walking further into the empty storeroom, he saw his two allies standing there, waiting for him. One wore a red hoodie, the hood pulled up over his long, flame coloured hair, and simple jeans. The other wore a long beige cloak over a scruffy white shirt, his grey hair shaved extremely short, like a buzzcut. Striker approached, both of them turning to face him, and addressed the man in the long coat. "I'm back, Asher." He greeted somewhat grumpily. "What's this about a crystal?" 

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1] 

(Shows the city of Vale from above) 

Kono omoi wo 

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa! 

(He holds out his hands) 

Mada jinsei nagai desho? 

(Ruby appears and smiles) 

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him) 

Yarinokosshiteru koto! 

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on) 

Yarinaoshite mitai kara! 

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita 

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold) 

hazu 

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out) 

nanoni! 

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito 

(He walks down the street) 

no tsumazuku! 

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins) 

Ano koro mitainitte 

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons) 

modoritai wake ji nai no! 

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper) 

Nakushitekita 

(He holds his hand out in front of him) 

sora wo sagashiteru! 

(Shows Mars running along the road) 

Wakatte kuremasu youni! 

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni 

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames) 

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo! 

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away) 

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away) 

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain) 

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.) 

Dare wo matteruno? 

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi 

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni! 

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield) 

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention) 

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion) 

Nani kara nogaretainda! 

(Shows Kalos in a street) 

Genjitsu tte yatsu! 

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni 

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker) 

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo 

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them) 

kikoeteimasuka! 

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street) 

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street) 

Kaeru basho mo nai no! 

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them) 

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru! 

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes) 

Dakara tsuyoku nantai! 

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze) 

I'm on my way! 

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru! 

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords) 

Konna itami mo kangei jam! 

END

9PM. Connor sat on a stool in the hunters department cafeteria, just in front of the main counter behind which the food was served. His cheek was scarred where Striker had slashed it. Lime had been able to easily heal the wound, but she couldn't stop it scarring. Ruby would probably fret over it when he returned home, he was tempted to make up a story instead of telling her he had almost been killed, just to stop her worrying. Mars sat on the stool next to him, tucking into a bowl of chicken noodle soup, the meal the two usually had during their little talks, though Connor hadn't touched his. 

"You wanted to talk to me about something, didn't you?" Mars spoke after slurping up a forkful of noodles and realising that Connor wasn't eating. 

"Uh, yeah...a couple of things..." Connor mumbled, very unsure of how to say what was on his mind.

"Well, go on then, spit it out." Mars told him sternly. "I've got stuff going on today, so get it out before I have to leave." 

"Well...that guy we fought earlier, he said his name was Striker...he's someone I've met before." Connor finally admitted, hoping Mars wouldn't take it in the wrong way. He could trust him to be serious about it, especially since it concerned him too, in a way. 

"You know who he is?" Mars responded curiously, not having a clue who Striker was himself. He was as eager to find out as anyone else. 

"No...I was hoping you would...he's someone from my past." Connor answered, his mood dropping at the mere thought of who Striker could be and what past memories he might invoke. "He mentioned things...things that make me think he met me when Kane was in my body." 

"So...theoretically, it was during the time when I was mentoring you too, since you probably didn't meet him at Beacon." Mars worked out, a hand on his chin in thought. "That's a pretty wide spectrum, you were with me for quite a few years." 

"So you have no idea who he is?" Connor asked next, hoping something would jog Mars' memory, but also hoping it wouldn't be anything he would regret remembering. 

"There's a lot of people who would want to fight you because of what you were like back then, what with the rampages when you lost control of Kane's power." Mars replied, still deep in thought. "Assuming that's how he knows you of course, but what else could it be?" 

"From what he said, it did seem like he had experienced one of my rampages in the old days." Connor said, trying to think back. "Could he be a survivor from the village?"

"Impossible, we searched the village extensively for survivors, remember?" Mars replied quickly, shooting down that idea.

"You did, I was too busy trying not to go mad." Connor corrected, remembering that time. There had been moments back then where he thought he would go insane from the feeling of having Kane in his head. 

"Well, we didn't find anybody, and there's no way anyone managed to escape the carnage." Mars sternly said, sure of that fact. "What was the other thing you wanted to talk to me about?" 

"Oh, well..." Connor mumbled slightly, caught off guard by the sudden change of subject. "I was, all of us were, wondering where you've been recently. None of us have seen you since the battle against Rufus." 

"Oh, well...it's a little embarrassing...kinda so..." Mars answered surprisingly shyly as he blushed and looked away. "You see, I was on a date."

"A date?! After you said you'd never find love?" Connor exclaimed in shock, baffled by the fact that any woman would be attracted to the old man. 

"That was before, I was wrong." Mars plainly responded, calmly looking back at Connor but still blushing slightly as he smiled. "How about that? Me being wrong." 

"Where'd you meet her?" Connor curiously asked, suddenly very interested in his former mentor's activities. He was the last of the group to find a relationship, so of course, he was intrigued as to the details. 

"It was quite normal really, I bumped into her whilst she was doing her shopping and she dropped all her bags. I helped her carry them home and we got talking." 

"Just like that? Dang." Connor responded, part of him not being able to believe it had really been so easy. 

After that, Mars got up from his stool and started to leave, taking his sunglasses out of pocket and unfolding them. Connor couldn't help being disappointed, he had wanted to talk to his old mentor for longer. "Speaking of dates, I've got another one tonight, so I best be going." He said as he turned to leave, then looked back at Connor before he went. "Stay strong, don't let that guy get to you." With that, he cooly slipped on his sunglasses and left, waving on his way out. Connor sat there for a moment, unsure of how he felt, then decided to tuck into his cold soup before it became inedible. 

11PM. The streets of Vale, the suburban zone. Houses lined both sides of the road, most of their curtains being drawn as their occupants slept. Three men walked through the darkness silently, then stopped and spoke to each other. "This'll be a good enough spot, plenty of open room." Striker commented, looking around at his environment. 

"Yeah, lots of space to break their damn faces in. That'll send a message to the government." Blaze, the man in the red hoodie said, his long, orange and yellow hair falling down by the sides of his face. "Hey, Asher, how are you planning to lure them out?" 

"Shut up." The third man, who stayed hidden in the shadows between the streetlights quietly commanded, his two lackeys not daring to disobey. "I have a way, just be silent and do as you're told." 

While they didn't quite like being told what to do by their boss, they knew he could obliterate them in a second if they rebelled and so kept their mouths shut. He stayed in the shadows and aimed his hand toward a house that was bigger than all the others, the lights coming from inside indicating a party involving many people. "Do not forget your objective, if you fail there will be consequences." The man warned them grimly, the fingers of his hand barely coming into the illuminating moonlight as he reached out. "Fight the four, get the crystal, by any means necessary. If you have to kill them, do so. Although, I suppose neither of you would have any problems with that." 

He clicked his fingers. The house exploded in an instant. Death, screaming, flames. 

"Get me the Kalos Crystal, or I'll put you in the next building I demolish." 

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets) 

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling) 

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha! 

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets) 

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta! 

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby) 

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru! 

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work) 

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her) 

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo! 

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her) 

Suki de itayo! 

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her) 

Kaze de me ga nijinde! 

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night) 

Toku naru yo! 

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon) 

Itsumademo 

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru 

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together) 

nanimo kawo 

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech) 

kawattemo! 

(Shows Jim) 

Hitotsu dake 

(Shows Mars) 

hitotsu dake 

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta 

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile) 

mono dakedo! 

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on) 

Misete yaru kagayaki 

(It zooms to her face) 

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku! 

END


	8. Two Versus Four

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 8

Two Versus Four

 **Been a long time. Had a really long period of just not feeling like writing. Call it writers block or fatigue or whatever. Right now I'm working on Volume 6, so guess I better get back to uploading the ones before that huh? Enjoy this chapter.**

The smoke rose higher and higher from the flames as the people in the houses next door screamed and called out in terror, the explosion having completely demolished the structure and set it ablaze. All that was left was a pile of fiery rubble, pieces of dead flesh and a dipping crater where the explosion had centred.

A few minutes after the initial blast, Connor had been woken up by a blaring emergency call, one that meant something truly disastrous had happened. He jumped out of bed and got dressed, not having time to explain to Ruby why he was leaving in such a hurry. He was out the door in under a minute and began running down the street towards the location of the incident. What scared him most was how close it was to he and Ruby, it made him think it wasn't just a random attack. Besides that, what kind of criminal would blow up a building where a party was being held and kill everyone in it? Was it terrorists? They'd never been a problem in Vale before, why now?

As he sprinted down the road, just one turn away from the street in question, Jim caught up to him, running even faster but not as exhausted. The two ran side by side, too panicked by the high level emergency to do anything other than that. They turned right at a T-junction, Kane meeting with them from the other way. Now the three of them ran towards the rising smoke coming from a wreckage further down the street, suddenly realising just how severe the incident was. They saw a figure standing in the middle of the road and staring blankly at the blazing ruins, realising upon coming closer that it was Mars. "You got here quick." Kane commented calmly when they reached him and stopped running, he still staring in disbelief at the scene before them.

"I was in a house further down the street...I heard the explosion." Mars replied, still fixed in a state of horror. Connor recalled how he said he had had a date earlier in the night, assuming he had probably been in the middle of it when the boom sounded. "How does something like this happen...? This is...so many dead bodies..."

He was quite right, the wreckage was littered with the corpses of the people who had been caught up in the explosion. Most of them were in pieces, at the least being scarred and burned horribly. Connor thought that maybe the reason Mars was so horrified was that he and his date had been just down the street from the incident, perhaps he was scared of what might had happened had it occurred closer to them. Connor understood how he felt, he was worried about something happening to Ruby too, but one of them had to keep a level head. "What was it? A bomb? Was the house rigged with them?" Connor questioned, knowing Mars would be able to look through the ruins with his special eyes to search for signs of man made explosives.

Still in a state of panic, Mars blinked and changed his eyes to a luminous green colour. He used them to scan the ruins, zooming in and out as well as getting a birds eye view. "There's nothing that would lead me to think that it was a bomb or set of bombs, no trace of explosives." Mars answered, breathing carefully in an effort to calm himself down, although his eyes were still darting about frantically. "I have no idea what did it...I really don't..."

"You don't think...someone's semblance?" Jim suggested, feeling unsure of himself even as he said it. Never before had anyone come across a semblance that could create such destruction so easily.

"There are some people out there who possess explosion based semblances, but they're all small scale, nothing of this magnitude." Kane disagreed. "At most, they'd be able to destroy a small vehicle, but not a house."

"But someone did, the evidence is right there." Connor said, staring into the chaos once again. "I'll admit though, I've never heard of such a powerful semblance before either."

"I'm not surprised, Asher's one of a kind!" Came a voice from down the street, all of the four turning around to see who it was. There stood two men, one in a red hoodie with orange and yellow hair, the other being Striker.

"Striker...you're behind this?" Connor warily questioned as he stared at the man who had previously attempted to kill him and almost succeeded, feeling the same stare coming right back at him from under the mask. "I don't know you though, what's your name?" He asked the man in the red hoodie.

"They call me Blaze, or at least they used to. I'm Flint now." The man responded, looking cocky and big headed as he sneered at them.

"Blaze? As in the hero Blaze?" Jim exclaimed upon hearing the name, recognising it immediately. "Carter told me a story about you once, you were a hero...you saved lives."

"Oh, so you know me? That's a surprise, I thought your government would have erased all knowledge of me." Flint replied, still sounding like a cocky teenager who thought the world should bow to him. "They don't call me Blaze no more though, not after what happened."

"What do you mean? What happened? Why are you with someone like him?" Jim pressed on, referring to Striker.

"Oh, that's a long story, one that I'd love to tell you. Unfortunately, there's only so much time left in the day, plus I'm sure you wouldn't want me to tarnish the reputation of your leaders, would you?" Flint answered rather cryptically, only creating more questions in Jim's mind.

Before Jim could ask them however, Kane spoke up, growing tired of the pointless chatter. "It's quite obvious you're behind this devastation." He bluntly stated, pointing a thumb in the direction of the wreckage. "I'm assuming you don't intend to come quietly, so let's get it over with."

As the six prepared to battle, each grabbing their weapons, Flint pulling out a spiked chain from behind his back, two more figures came running up behind Team Kalos. They quickly realised it was Carter and Lime, come to help. The distraction of their arrival was all the two terrorists needed to strike, they both pointing their hands out as the team turned their heads away and shooting out a blast of electricity and flames. The blast created a large boom, sending dust and smoke into the air. Carter and Lime stopped and stared into the dust cloud, trying to see if the four had survived the attack.

Music: http/youtu.be/7J0A_xdJOso

[Log Horizon OST- Ude No Ari Ni]

When the smoke cleared, Mars was stood in front of the other three holding his hand out in front of himself, all of them unscathed. Carter and Lime quickly concluded that Mars must have used one of his shields to block the blast just before it hit. Flint's face went serious when he saw they were unhurt, Striker assumedly making a similar face under his mask. They then charged forward and begun the battle.

First off, Flint swung his long, spiked chain, sending it straight towards Mars' face. Mars however, simply moved his head to the side slightly and constructed a pale green barrier between it and his face, the black metal grinding along it as it whizzed past. Jim caught it in his hand as it reached him, using the strength of his robotic arm to pull back on it and bring Flint towards him, the difference in body strength being immediately apparent. Striker saw this and threw a handful of electrical throwing knives at Jim, Kane getting in front and dismissing them easily with his dark clouds. Striker then ran forward determinately, his small hidden blades clashing with Kane's scythes as Jim stood by behind him, ready to help if needed.

While those two concentrated their attacks on Striker, Mars and Connor took on Flint. Connor charged in from Flint's right side, holding one of his four katanas in his left hand. Flint swung this spiked chain towards him, but he grabbed it in his metal hand just as Jim had earlier, then pulled. He thought he had caught Flint off guard as he came towards him, but he then noticed something, a group of small metal spikes sticking out of the palm of his right hand. Before he could move, the hand came forward and the spikes stabbed into his left shoulder, a small amount of blood spitting out as they retracted. Seeing Connor was in pain, Flint moved his other hand and began to swing the spiked chain, aiming to dig it right into Connor's side. He then abandoned the plan and leapt back however just before a bolt of green energy shot by Mars came flying past him.

The two young officers were on the scene quickly, Carter quickly constructing a pale blue dome shield around Connor and Lime setting to work on healing his injury with the pale green glow of her semblance. She had just managed to close the wound when Connor stopped her, seeing that Kane had been lightly slashed on the side by one of Striker's throwing knives. "Go help Kane!" He ordered, Lime trying to protest that she hadn't finished fixing him up yet. "Don't worry about me, prioritise Kane!" With that command, the two of them ran off in that direction, Carter keeping his dome shield up all the way. Connor gazed back over at Flint, Mars now engaging in close quarters combat with him, slashing with his green energy sword and blocking with his shield of the same aura. Connor could feel that his wound was only just closed, any exceeding stress would probably tear it open again, but he had to rush in to help.

Meanwhile, Jim ran toward Striker, firing off rounds from his revolvers as he went. Striker nonchalantly blocked the bullets with the gauntlets on his forearms, Jim then swiftly switching his weapons into their chainsaw dagger form and slashing with them. Striker blocked the hit with his hidden blades, the two of them becoming locked in a competition of strength. Taking advantage of it, Kane swung both his scythes towards Striker's neck, only for him to duck whilst still holding his arms up to block Jim's chainsaws. He then pushed harder as Kane's scythes moved safely away from him, standing up and breaking Jim's guard. He tried to take the opportunity to stab both his blades into Jim's chest, but the handle of Kane's scythes cut in front, forcing his blades down into the ground. He then decided to go for a different approach and leapt back, firing a crackling bolt of electricity as he went. Kane promptly stepped in front of Jim and responded with a blast of his own dark clouds, the two elements meeting in the middle with a bang.

Over on the other side of the battle, Flint swung his spiked chain towards Mars, wrapping one end of it around his sword to stop him from attacking that way. He then lunged forward with his spiked hand, only for Mars to block it by holding his shield up in front of his face. Connor then appeared to the right, slashing one katana from left to right, Flint dodging backwards and pulling Mars' sword away from him as he went. The energy weapon dropped on the ground, Flint then swung his spiked chain towards Mar's undefended side, knowing he wouldn't be able to swap his shield to the other hand in time. Connor fortunately saved him, knocking the chain to the ground with his second katana, which he had just unsheathed. He then flicked his sword up, sending the chain up into the air with the motion. Before he could move, the chain hit Flint right in the face, the spikes stabbing into his cheek and just below his eye, as well as scratching his forehead. The left side of his face became a bloody mess, but his injuries weren't as serious as they looked. He scowled as Connor took the opportunity to slash with his katanas, but then rejoiced when Connor winced from some sort of pain, Flint knowing the wound in his shoulder had reopened. Connor consequently missed his swipe, Flint then stepping forward and cutting along Connor's shoulder with his spiked palm, the same one that had already been injured. Connor cried out in pain, but Mars was quick to retaliate, sending a curving blast of green energy towards Flint, who was able to jump back just as it hit the ground where he has been standing just a moment before. Connor then saw that Carter and Lime were back on their way over to him, having healed Kane's minor wound. Just in time, he thought, he would need medical help for the injury this time.

[Stop Music]

As expected of them, Carter put up a dome shaped shield around Connor whilst Lime healed him, taking care to finish the job this time around. In the meantime, Striker and Flint grouped up further down the street and conversed. "Flint, you let them get a hit on you?" Striker commented disappointedly, surprised by his partners injury. "Are you slacking? You should be pushing them back."

"You know I've always been a reckless fighter, don't act so surprised. These wounds are nothing to me anyway." Flint responded with an amused chuckle. "I could say the same to you though, I see your opponents have sustained no wounds."

"I got a hit on Kane, but those annoying officers healed him." Striker explained, seeming irritated by the very mention of them. "I swear, you could lose all your limbs and not be affected by it." He then commented, seeing that his partner was completely unfazed by his own injuries.

"That's me, Striker, the blood only makes it more interesting." Flint replied cockily, licking the red liquid off his face. "Now, let's show these guys what we're really made of."

As Striker simply nodded in agreement, the four of Team Kalos were back to full strength. Connor's wound had been closed, although it would leave a scar, and Mars had retrieved his sword. They all stood beside each other, looking straight at their enemies with raw determination. "Hey, bastards! Why are you doing this?" Connor called out, signalling to the still ablaze wreckage.

"You have something we desire...that our employer desires." Strike answered, Connor knowing what he meant almost immediately. It could only be one thing, the Kalos Crystal. What else would they be going to so much effort to get their hands on. "We personally, however, have our own reasons for fighting you. Our own grudges." Striker continued, Connor clutching the hand in which the Kalos Crystal was embedded. "We will not hold back, as you have proven your are worthy of our full strength. Prepare yourselves."

"You best do the same." Mars told them grandly in response, all four of them holding their weapons by their sides as they began to glow the respective colours of their semblance. "You haven't seen anywhere near our full strength yet."

"Weapon Resonance!" The four of them then all cried out at once, their weapons transforming as they pumped their aura into them. Connor's katanas grew into large and curved golden swords. Mars' sword grew and became a one sided pickaxe as his shield also grew larger and thicker. Kane's scythes turned into four black Grimm claws constructed from dark clouds, two in each hand. Finally, Jim's revolvers upgraded into submachine guns. Once that was done, they all charged.

"Weapon Resonance!" Striker repeated as they came closer. His hidden blades crackled with electricity, extending into two sparking electric longswords. Flint said the same, using his own weapon resonance. His spiked chain became covered in flames, his other hand heating up to a scorching hot temperature. The two of them then charged forward as well, the six meeting in the middle and clashing.

First Jim fired a torrent of bullets from his submachine guns, fuelling them with the ammo strapped over his chest. Striker held up his arms and created an electric shield over each of them, blocking the barrage and giving Flint a chance to run forward. He swung his flaming chain towards Mars with bloodlust in his eyes, but Mars simply swatted it away with his weapon. He followed up by smashing his large shield into Flint's face, his nose breaking and he was knocked back a little. He quickly regained his balance however, looking thrilled even with blood covering his face and dripping over his clothing, and thrust out his spiked palm. Connor stepped in front of Mars to deal with the coming attack, thinking hard to come up with a plan. He knew if the spikes stabbed into him now, their overwhelming temperature would roast him from the inside out. Swinging his golden sword in one fluid motion, he stopped the hand before it could reach anywhere near him, then swung out with his other sword. When the golden hard-light hit Flint, it didn't cut, but instead knocked him back, far away from the battle. He hit the ground with a crash, Striker looking over his shoulder to check on his teammates condition.

That was his downfall. As he looked, Jim stopped firing and used the moment to get around to his side, switching his submachine guns to two one handed battle axes. He swung fast, Striker only just being able to block the blades, but Kane was up next. He sent the four dark cloud claws out with haste, all of them slamming into Striker's side and sending him flying over to where Flint had been knocked to. The two rose to their feet painfully, but didn't show it. "They're not bad..." Flint commented, cursing under his breath.

"Don't compliment the enemy." Striker said to him, not ready to give up fighting just yet. The two of them had so much more up their sleeve. "Let's drop our weapons and show them our real power."

"I like the sound of that." Flint agreed with a sneer, then the two of them did exactly that. For a moment, Team Kalos thought they were surrendering, but were quickly proven wrong. The two of them raised their hands up and pointed them at their opponents as their aura started to build up. Team Kalos could feel their power rising, suddenly unnerved by the energy in the air, then they fired. A blast of vibrant flames and crackling electricity ravaged down the street towards the four, followed by an enormous boom when it hit them. Carter and Line watched helplessly as their team was once again lost in a cloud of smoke, their mouths hanging open from the suspense.

Music: http/youtu.be/OGv-PG5aXSg [Log Horzon OST- Tekijin Toppa]

When the smoke cleared for the second time, Mars was once again standing in front of the others, having constructed a shield to protect them. This time however, he looked much more strained by the effort, sweat running down his face as he breathed hard. "What's this feeling?" He wondered to himself. "Why do I suddenly feel so...tired?"

"Looks like the battle has transitioned! Let's charge them with our semblances and show them who's better!" Connor declared, dropping his katanas before charging in, his fists glowing with a golden light. Kane and Jim followed his lead, Mars coming up behind them as he dismissed his energy weapons.

The first move was Connor's. He punched forward with his golden glowing fist, Striker covering his own hand in electricity and punching back. When they collided, there was a mighty bang, resulting in Connor being pushed back. "What? He's so strong!" He thought to himself in shock. He didn't have time to dwell on the matter however, as Striker swiftly shot a bolt of savage electricity towards him out of his palm. When it hit, Connor felt like he was being struck by lightning, his emotes body being run through the the thunderous power. He felt his heart skip a beat followed sudden pain, then fell to his knees clutching his chest.

"Bastard!" Jim cursed, running at Striker and punching out with his robot fist as soon as he saw Connor in agony on the ground, assuming the worst. Normally, a punch from Jim would've been more than enough to break a bone or two, given his semblance granted him incredible strength, but Striker shot out another bolt of electricity before the punch reached him. In a flash of sparking light, the electricity struck Jim's robot arm and sent a shockwave through it, it consequently breaking apart and falling to the ground in pieces. Jim fell to his knees beside Connor, his remaining hand going to his shoulder in shock.

Distracted by their allies injuries, Kane and Mars didn't see the next attack coming. "Crap!" Kane exclaimed suddenly as Flint flicked his wrist and sent a whirlwind of ferocious flames their way. Kane summoned up his dark clouds to stop the coming inferno, but watched in horror as they were swallowed up by the blaze. The fire then blew past the two of them, they both falling to their knees afterwards. Their skin had only been lightly burned due to a quick shield from Mars, but somehow they still felt as if they were completely out of energy.

[Stop Music]

"Shit...this is bad!" Connor cursed in a panic, all four members of the team now kneeling in pain on the ground, clutching different parts of their bodies where they had been wounded. They were completely at the mercy of their opponents, who he was quite sure would give them none. "Mars! Can't you go Mystic State and kick their arses! We're in trouble here!"

"I don't have enough aura left!" Mars exclaimed urgently, seeming just as panicked himself. "Somehow...somehow, I'm all empty!"

"I feel the same way, but how is it possible?" Kane agreed, looking powerlessly down at his hands. "We should have plenty of energy left."

"My flames feast on aura, they burn it to cinders. Then to ashes, then to dust, then to nothing." Flint explained, seeming very proud of his powers. "They ate through your aura reserves, leaving you powerless and weak."

"Connor! What about you?! You always get back up! You always keep fighting!" Jim called out somewhat desperately, actually scared for his life.

Connor tried, he really did. Before he could move any more than an inch however, he felt a agonising pain in his heart just like he had before and fell back down, holding a hand to his chest. The pain continued as he kneeled their, his vision blurring and his body going limp. "That's what get hit by 30,000 volts'll do to you." Striker told him, explaining. "I'm surprised you're still breathing, most people would be dead right now."

"Three of you unable to keep fighting and the Aussie is an arm down, I think we win, don't you?" Flint mockingly monologued as he paced from side to side in front of them, looking as cocky as ever. "Give it up, hand over the crystal."

For a moment, Connor actually considered doing so. He didn't want to die, he couldn't leave Ruby and the baby alone. At least if he survived, he could go after them and get the Kalos Crystal back. If he died here, it'd be all over, they'd kill him and take the crystal anyway. Just as he was about to prize the crystal out of his metal hand, Mars groaned and pushed himself up to his feet, surprising them all with his resilience. "You underestimate me way too much, you think I'm called the strongest hunter for nothing?" He boasted as he stood up straight and proud. "Sure, I don't have enough power left to go into Mystic State, but your little flames didn't take all of my aura."

As he finished his sentence, power built up all around him. His arms became covered in thunderous green energy which built up, becoming stronger and more fearsome. His aura could be felt in the air, like that of a mighty dragon. "Energy Spiral!" He cried out, punching the air with his fist and expelling the green energy, causing it to shoot out in a spinning vortex of green, thunder like aura. The blast blew past Striker and Flint, trapping them in the middle of it as they covered their bodies in electricity and flames for protection.

"It would appear he is as strong as they say he is." Striker commented nonchalantly, fading away into sparks of electricity.

"Yeah, Asher will have to take care of this one, he's too much for us, as much as I hate to say it." Flint agreed, fading away into flames.

As the spiralling blast of energy died down, the two terrorists disappeared, having used their respective semblances to cloak their escape. Mars sighed, perhaps from exhaustion, but didn't feel all too tired. He'd been bluffing all along and it had worked perfectly. Turning to the rest of his team as Carter and Lime rushed over to provide medical support, he muttered to himself, "Asher...the strongest unofficial hunter?"

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


	9. Recovery

Outcasts and Outlaws

Volume 4, Chapter 9

Recovery

 **A nice short one to bridge the gap between the action. Enjoy.**

A couple of hours after the battle of ended, Flint and Striker stood leaning against the walls of the abandoned warehouse they had holed up in. The left side of Flint's face was covered in sore looking scars from where he had been injured during the conflict, his nose broken and off centre. Striker had wrapped bandages around the wounds on his hands, which had opened up again following the stress of the recent fight. Both of them stood there as Asher stood with his back to them, thinking over what they had just told him. They hadn't succeeded in obtaining the Kalos Crystal, they hadn't even managed to kill any of their opponents. He was furious, but he needed to know why they had failed. He knew that strategy and a clear head won battles, not rage. "Tell me exactly why you couldn't win." He said to his two underlings, still not turning to face them.

"It was the oldest one, Mars." Striker answered formally, staying calm even though he knew Asher was mad. If he kept a level head and spoke to him in the right way, he could avoid punishment.

"We saw one blast of his full power and turned tail, there's no way we can contend with that." Flint added, lowering his head in shame. "The others we can take, but he's ridiculously strong."

"That wasn't his full power, there's no way he'd show it to you so easily." Asher responded, both of his servants looking up with interest. "Mars, the strongest official hunter...what a battle ours will be..."

Opening Music: http/youtu.be/uBEVpAygTFs [FMA Brotherhood OP 1]

(Shows the city of Vale from above)

Kono omoi wo

(Connor appears in front) keshiteshimau niwa!

(He holds out his hands)

Mada jinsei nagai desho?

(Ruby appears and smiles)

(Shows Jim in the dimly lit hallway of his house with the twin kids looking up at him)

Yarinokosshiteru koto!

(Mars looks up and puts sunglasses on)

Yarinaoshite mitai kara!

(Shows the four members of Team Kalos standing on the city streets at night)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS (Shows Connor standing on the street at night as lights flash past) Yume no tsuzuki oikaketeita

(He puts his hands together as they glow gold)

hazu

(He holds his hands out and the golden light shines out)

nanoni!

(Shows Mars in front of the Hunter Department of the Police Station) Magarikunetta hosoi michi hito

(He walks down the street)

no tsumazuku!

(Shows Yang laying on her bed, asleep with the twins)

Ano koro mitainitte

(Shows Stephene and Irileth walking down the street with their weapons)

modoritai wake ji nai no!

(Shows Kane on the roof of a skyscraper)

Nakushitekita

(He holds his hand out in front of him)

sora wo sagashiteru!

(Shows Mars running along the road)

Wakatte kuremasu youni!

(Shows Striker looking serious) Gisei ni

(Shows Blaze from behind then he turns around with flames)

natta youna kanashii kao wa (Shows Ruby lying on her bed) yameteyo!

(Shows Connor clutch his eye and hand in pain as they disintegrate away)

Tsumi no saigo wa namida ja nai yo! (Shows Jim clutching his arm as it is torn away)

Zutto kurushiku seottekunda! (Shows Ruby clutching her stomach in pain)

Deguchi mienai kanjoumeiro ni! (Shows Rufus, Floyd and Tim in the city. Rufus reveals his octopus arm under his long sleeve, Floyd takes out his moon sword, and Tim makes a gun shape with his hand, a sniper rifle glistening in the background.)

Dare wo matteruno?

(Shows Kane fire out black clouds) Shiroi

(Jim fires his submachine guns) nooto ni tsuzutta youni!

(Shows Mars summon up his green sword and shield)

(Shows Carter and Lime standing to attention)

Motto sunao ni hakidashitai yo! (Shows Asher flick his fingers and cause an explosion)

Nani kara nogaretainda!

(Shows Kalos in a street)

Genjitsu tte yatsu!

(Shows Connor running down the street with his katanas out) Kanaeru tame ni

(Connor starts swinging his swords at Blaze and Striker)

ikiterundatte! (Kane, Mars and Jim run down the street to help him) Sakebitaku naru yo

(Asher sends an explosion down the street at them)

kikoeteimasuka!

(Shows Asher standing at the end of the destroyed street)

Bunan ni nante yatterarenaikara! (Asher sends another explosion down the street)

Kaeru basho mo nai no!

(Shows Ruby and Yang looking out onto the street at night and the twins coming running along from behind them)

Yasashisa ni wa itsumo kansha shiteru!

(Connor runs along, coating his swords in a thick golden aura as he goes)

Dakara tsuyoku nantai!

(He slashes his swords at Striker, misses, then faces Blaze)

I'm on my way!

(Shows Ruby praying for his safety) Natsukashiku naru!

(Connor stabs the ground with his swords)

Konna itami mo kangei jam!

END

Connor was sat on the edge of his bed in the medical area of the hunters department, having been admitted to properly have his wounds seen to. He hadn't needed to stay in the bed, but the doctors had insisted he stayed there whilst they examined him. They had looked at the cut across his shoulder caused by Flint's spiked palm, making sure that it was rightly healed before bandaging it up and telling him he could go. He was now sat there shirtless, the bandages going over his shoulder and around his back, waiting for someone to come and take him away. That was the procedure for injured combatants, they couldn't leave the medical area without someone by their side.

As he snapped himself out of his daydreams about Flint and Striker and what they might want the Kalos Crystal for, he noticed Officer Lime walking towards him, her blonde hair tied into a ponytail as usual. "Hey, are you feeling any better?"

"Yeah, I don't think I lost too much blood." He answered, moving his arm around and wincing at the pain it created in his shoulder. "Hopefully this'll stop aching soon and I'll be able to get back into the battlefield."

"Knowing you sir, you'll be fighting again even before its stopped hurting." Like responded, letting out a light chuckle. Connor got a chuckle out of that too, smiling to himself. The program that the boss had set in place really did help create good relationships between teams, he thought.

"Listen, Lime..." He then said, going serious for a second and he looked down at the floor. "I'd like you to not tell Ruby about how I got hurt, let me do it. I'll come up with some story so that she doesn't worry about me getting killed, I don't want to put that on her."

After a moment of silent contemplation, Lime finally replied. "Permission to speak informally sir?" She asked, Connor nodding to tell her she could. "I don't think you should keep how you got injured from your wife, she deserves to know. What if you suddenly die and she isn't at all prepared? As a husband, you shouldn't be keeping secrets from her, if she worries, then you'll be there to comfort her."

Connor thought that through for a moment, coming to the conclusion that Lime was right. He had to tell Ruby the truth, he couldn't keep it from her. He had to be there to protect her and the baby, so he couldn't keep secrets from them. "Yeah...I suppose your right..." He sighed, standing up and reaching for his vest and cloak. "Let's go."

Once he was dressed, his bandages just poking out over the top of his vest, he and Lime left the medical area and walked down the corridor that lead to the main office. On their way, the passed the door that went into the automail maintenance area. Connor told Lime he was going to pop in to see Jim and asked her to wait by the front doors for him. When he entered the small room, Jim was sat on a cushioned chair while a mechanic working on his robot arm, screwing joints and attaching wires. Carter stood by the other side of the chair, assumedly being there to escort Jim home once he was finished there. The room was cramped and smelt of oil, muck and grime staining the walls and junk parts lining the shelves, truly a mechanics lair. "Hey, come to see me?" Jim greeted as he saw Connor enter, being careful not to move his arm too much whilst it was being worked on.

"Yeah, I just got let out of the medical area." Connor replied, standing in front of Jim and taking a peek at his arm, which was nearing completion. He'd seen Jim's arm undergo maintenance many times, but was always amazed by the complexity of it. "That looks different than before, kinda slick."

"They're outfitting him with the latest model!" Carter explained excitedly, unsurprisingly being very enthusiastic about the matter. "It'll more resistant, resilient, sturdy, he'll be like a superhero!"

"He's exaggerating, it'll just be a little tougher than that one I had before, with a few added perks." Jim said mysteriously, suggesting that the new model had some secrets he wasn't telling. "Yang won't be too happy about it though, I've used the automail she built for me for years now, but after being zapped by that electricity it's completely conked out."

"She'll get over it when she sees how cool the new one is!" Carter assured him.

"You obviously don't know Yang very well." Connor joked, knowing all too well how she would react to knowing that Jim had broken her automail for good this time. The two of them shared a little laugh, Carter not quite understanding, but chuckling all the same.

"I thought Lime fixed up your wound, why'd you go to the medical area?" Jim asked, seeing the bandages poking out of Connor's vest and going around his back under the padded armour.

"Apparently, the larger the wound, the bigger the chance of it reopening. I have no wishes to bleed to death in the middle of the night." Connor answered.

"Sucks that the armour padding didn't protect you. Why'd they even give you it if it can't even stop a blade, let alone a bullet?" Jim next said, noticing the armour padding was still torn where Flint was slashed it.

"Normally, it proves decently protective, but Flint's spikes slashed right through it." Connor explained, being worried himself. "It's something about the metal he used being extra sharp and the material this is made of not being able to withstand it."

"They're a troublesome pair, here's to hoping we can show them what we're made of last time." Jim said, holding up his free hand.

"Yeah..." Connor mumbled back, thinking hard about the two again. "Here's hoping..."

Music: http/youtu.be/a2EjLS7gbDE [Baccano OST- Owaru Koto No Nai Kaidan]

The next day at noon, the central plaza of the city was bustling with people, all working through on their way to and from the shops. In the middle of the crowd stood Striker and Flint, both of them side by side in the clearing that had formed in the centre of the plaza. They were both just as scarred as the day before, Flint with his face red and sore and Striker with bandages around his hands, but they were ready for a fight. "This time..." Striker muttered to himself cryptically, looking around at the crowd.

"Same plan as before? Flint asked.

"Yes, we wait for Asher to cause an explosion in one of the nearby buildings, then battle when Team Kalos arrives." Striker answered, not being able to help noticing something strange about the crowd.

"This time'll be different than the last, for sure." Flint promised, mostly to himself. "Now that we've got him with us, even Mars won't stand a chance."

They had planned to wait a couple more minutes after that, Asher giving them the cue at five past the hour exactly, but they quickly realised something was going on. Before they knew it, the crowd of people in casual clothing had all formed a circle around them, trapping them in the plaza. "What is this...?" Striker mumbled to himself, swearing he recognised some of the faces in the crowd.

Moving so fast that the two terrorists couldn't even move an inch before it all went down, everyone in the circular formation whipped out pistols and pointed them at the two. That was when it dawned on Striker, all those people were police officers, it was all one big trap. Stepping through the barrier of armed men and entering the circle with the rest of his team, Connor nonchalantly addressed them.

"This time, we're attacking you!"

Ending Music: http/youtu.be/dsecL4bcH8M [Clannad Afterstory OP]

(Shows the sky above the city) (Shows the city streets)

(Shows Connor and Ruby's house) (Shows Ruby from volume 3 smiling)

OUTCASTS AND OUTLAWS Kimi daka ga sugisatta sake no tochuu ha!

(Shows Ruby walking down the city streets)

Atataka ni hidamari ga ikutsu mo dekiteta!

(Shows a flashback of Beacon) Boku hotori ga koko de yasashii! (Shows flashes of Ruby)

Atatakasa wo omoi kaesshiteru!

(Shows Connor looking out the window from work)

(Shows Ruby and flashbacks of her)

Kimi dake wo kimi dake wo!

(Shows Yang and flashbacks of her)

Suki de itayo!

(Shows Irileth and flashbacks of her)

Kaze de me ga nijinde!

(Shows Connor holding Ruby's hands by the door of their house at night)

Toku naru yo!

(Shows Irilety clinging to Kane at Beacon)

Itsumademo

(Shows Yang waving and smiling) obeoteru

(Shows Connor and Ruby walking through the beacon grounds together)

nanimo kawo

(Shows Connor making his leaving beacon speech)

kawattemo!

(Shows Jim)

Hitotsu dake

(Shows Mars)

hitotsu dake

(Shows Yang hugging the twins) arifureta

(Shows Irileth laughing and Kane letting out a small smile)

mono dakedo!

(Shows Ruby out at night with her red coat on)

Misete yaru kagayaki

(It zooms to her face)

ni michita sono hitotsu dake! (Zooms back out as it fades away) Itsumademo itsumademo mamotte iku!

END


End file.
